Safety of Dental Lasers

Many dental professionals, including Dr. Leigh Kent of Birmingham, AL, use dental lasers to perform a variety of diagnostic procedures to treat the gums, bone, and dentin and often use laser gum surgery to treat periodontitis. Lasers for soft tissue surgery received marketing clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991 and are now used across many medical specialties. Dental lasers are commonly used to perform:

• Disease Diagnosis
• Soft Tissue Surgery – procedures that treat the lips, gums, and tongue
• Hard Tissue Procedures – procedures that treat the bone, enamel, and dentin

Laser Dentistry

Laser technology has been adopted by medical professionals in many specialties to perform surgery and provide patients with a high level of care. They can be used to perform gum and bone recontouring procedures, detect diseased tissue, and address the effects of periodontitis.

What is Laser?

Few people know that laser is an acronym for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” The device emits a single beam of light to a target area to deliver very precisely controlled energy.

Medical Lasers

Medical laser devices are designed with several components and these emit various amounts of light energy, depending on the surgical procedure or diagnostic treatment performed. Medical lasers are made of: an electricity source, mirrors to direct the light beam, a semiconductor to emit wavelengths, and fiber optics.

Lasers and Gum Disease

If you have gum disease that has progressed to periodontitis, you may need to undergo laser gum surgery to restore your oral health. Dr. Kent performs the LANAP® laser protocol and this treatment has proven to be very effective for eradicating bacteria and infections in the mouth in one to two visits. For more information about periodontitis treatment in Birmingham, AL, schedule an appointment with Dr. Kent today!