Has it been a while since you’ve been to the dentist? If so, call 580- 255-4880 to schedule a consultation at our Duncan, OK practice. No matter your goals, we can help you achieve and maintain a healthy smile for years to come.

Benefits of Laser Dentistry

Laser dentistry offers a number of advantages for both doctor and patient. Here are a few of the most notable benefits:
• Higher precision
• Less-invasive treatment
• Reduction in bleeding, both during and after the procedure
• Decreased post-operative swelling and discomfort
• Reduced risk of infection and other post-treatment complications
• Faster healing
• No need for scalpels or sutures

Types of Lasers Used in Dentistry

Lasers have been used in the medical field for decades. Now, they are quite common in dentistry as well. Each laser operates at a specific wavelength to achieve the desired outcome. In the sections below, we will discuss three of the primary types of lasers used in the field.

Hard Tissue Lasers

Traditionally, a dental drill was necessary to remove enamel and prepare a tooth for restoration. While certainly effective, many patients experience anxiety regarding the noise and vibrations associated with this type of procedure.

A hard tissue laser functions on a wavelength that is incredibly absorbable by the water, salts, calcium, and phosphate found in bone and teeth. As a result, this type of device is highly efficient for cutting into hard tissue with accuracy and precision. This type of laser is most commonly used to prepare a cavity for a dental filling or to prepare a tooth for a custom restoration, such as a porcelain veneer or dental crown.

Soft Tissue Lasers

Before the advent of lasers, scalpels and stitches were necessary when performing gum surgery or other types of soft tissue procedures. While this achieved the desired goal, recovery often took longer due to the incisions and stitches.

While a hard tissue laser is designed to cut through bone, a soft tissue laser is intended to incise soft tissues. To do this, the device operates on a wavelength that is absorbable by hemoglobin and water.
In addition to heightened precision, a soft tissue laser also cauterizes as it cuts. Therefore, the tissues seal together to reduce the risk of bleeding and bacteria. This type of laser is typically used during cosmetic procedures like gum contouring, and is also used to treat periodontal disease in some cases. The laser targets infected tissue while leaving healthy tissue intact. It also helps activate gum tissue regrowth.

Lasers for Teeth Whitening

Another cosmetic advantage to lasers is that they can be used to expedite the teeth whitening process. For example, patients can undergo Zoom!® teeth whitening at our practice. While the hydrogen peroxide bleaching gel eliminates the stains, the laser used during the process helps achieve the results faster. Laser dentistry can even help customize the whitening process. For example, if there is one tooth that is more discolored than the surrounding teeth, a laser can help bleach with precision.

Contact Chisholm Trail Smile Center

Curious to learn more about laser dentistry? Schedule a consultation at our Duncan, OK practice by calling 580-255-4880.

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Visit Chisholm Trail Smile Center to experience modern laser dentistry first-hand. Dr. Matthew Bridges provides preventive, restorative, and cosmetic treatments in our Duncan OK dental clinic. Call (580) 255-4880 or contact us through our website to set up an appointment.

Quieter, More Precise Fillings

It’s a fact of life that most people will experience tooth decay that requires a filling at least once in their lives. If you’ve ever had a cavity filled with a traditional drill, you know it is noisy and causes vibrations you can feel deep in your bones. Many cases of dental anxiety stem from fear of the drill, in fact. In our office, we prefer to use a Waterlase laser tool for fillings, for two reasons. First, a laser tool is quieter and creates only the sensation of a soft pulse. The second benefit is the fact that the Waterlase laser is a more precise cutting tool. This allows us to preserve more of your natural tooth when removing decay and bacteria. It also means that many cavities that would have required a local anesthetic injection can now be completed with less sensitivity. Many patients are surprised when we tell them they won’t need an injection!

Laser-Based Periodontal Therapy

If you suffer from gum disease, you’ve probably had periodontal therapy appointments that left your gums sore and swollen for days. It’s not fun, but removing bacteria from below the gum line requires access to those spaces. In the past, dentists used metal tools to scrape and scale away bacteria, but today laser dentistry provides an equally effective solution. Lasers can be used to access the periodontal pockets and sanitize them more precisely. This means less rubbing against the gums, and less pain afterwards.

If you require gum surgery, a soft tissue laser can be used to cut and cauterize tissues. This technique is preferable to using a scalpel and suturing because it causes less bleeding, promotes faster healing, and causes less damage to the gingival tissues.

Efficient Diagnostic Tools

Another wonderful application of laser technology is the DIAGNOdent diagnostic tool. When conducting an oral exam in the past, we used metal tools to find spots of demineralized enamel on teeth. These “soft spots” tell us that a cavity may develop and help us deliver strengthening fluoride treatments where they are most needed. Today, we use a low frequency laser to illuminate the teeth. Soft spots become immediately visible and help us catch problem areas we may have missed in the past. DIAGNOdent can also help us identify gum disease symptoms more readily.

Lasers tools make oral cancer screening more efficient, as well. One laser-based tool scans the mouth to find thickened tissues that may indicate cancerous growth. Another laser tool can be used to gently remove a tissue sample for biopsy.

Laser Dentistry is Advanced Dentistry

When you seek care with Dr. Matthew Bridges, you ensure you are getting the most advanced, efficient dental care possible. Visit Chisholm Trail Smile Center to learn how laser dentistry can improve your family’s experiences at the dentist. Contact our Duncan OK dental office at 580-255-4880 for an appointment.

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You probably know someone who has had laser vision correction, and surgical lasers can cut tissues more precisely than scalpels. Lasers can cauterize tissues, as well, letting us recover faster from surgical procedures. Dentistry is no exception from these innovations, and lasers have been used in this field for more than two decades. As laser technology has advanced, so have the ways we can care for and repair your teeth.

Do you need a family dentist that uses the best tools technology has to offer? Call our Duncan, OK office at 580-255-4880 to make an appointment.

What is Laser Dentistry?

All lasers work by harnessing energy into focused beams of light. At varying frequencies, concentrated light can accomplish a number of different tasks. They can cut soft and hard tissues; they can illuminate teeth in ways that ordinary lights cannot; and they can kill bacteria and break down plaque more efficiently than metal tools.

Some of the Benefits of Laser Dentistry

Laser tools may be more expensive than traditional dental tools, but many dentists have adopted their use because they offer several benefits:

• Lasers can reduce the need for needle injections in some procedures.
• The use of lasers is quieter than many traditional tools, which can reduce anxiety in patients who are triggered by noises.
• Lasers allow for more conservative cavity treatment, so dentists can preserve more healthy tooth matter.
• In soft tissue treatments, lasers minimize bleeding and swelling and reduce healing times.

Commonly Used Laser Dentistry Treatments

Laser dentistry tools have a number of uses. All of them can make the patient’s experience in the dental chair more comfortable, and the treatments more effective. Here are some of the ways lasers may be used in a dental office:

Easier Filling Treatments – With laser-based “drills,” filling are quieter and there is less need for anesthetic injections. With lasers, a filling that usually requires Novocain can be accomplished without a needle jab—plus, there are fewer jarring vibrations and loud noises.

Cavity Detection – Laser lights can be used to spot cavities and spots of demineralization before a cavity is formed. This makes cavity detection faster than traditional means, and more efficient.

Periodontal Treatments – When a patient has periodontal pockets due to gum disease, those spaces must be cleaned of bacteria and calculus regularly. With traditional tools there is more trauma to the gum tissue during deep cleaning, but lasers allow dentists to kill bacteria and clean the teeth more conservatively.

Faster, Better Root Canal Therapy – During a root canal therapy, the dentist must thoroughly sterilize and remove tissues from the inside of the tooth (pulp chamber). Lasers let us do this with greater precision, so there is less of a chance the root canal will fail at a later date.

Faster Teeth Whitening – Laser lights can be used during in-office whitening treatments to speed up the chemical processes that remove stains from the teeth.

Visit Chisholm Trail Smile Center to Learn More

As a dental practice that puts patient comfort first, we have adopted laser tools to give you a better experience. Ask Dr. Matthew Bridges or a member of our staff to explain the laser tools we use at Chisholm Trail Smile Center.

Ready for a great dental appointment? Call our Duncan, OK office at 580-255-4880 to make an appointment.

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