Laser Gum Surgery and Gum Disease
In recent years, laser gum surgery has become more popular, common, and efficient for treating moderate to severe gum disease. Laser stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
Your dentist might recommend laser surgery as an additional step following a traditional scaling and root planing treatment. They could recommend laser gum surgery in place of non-laser surgeries, such as gum flap surgery. Laser gum surgery can also be used for other dental procedures. These treatments include gum contouring to improve a gummy smile for cosmetic reasons.
There is one thing you might dread the most and that is being informed by your dentist that the only way to resolve your receding teeth and gums is to have them removed and replaced with dentures. This is not what anyone wants to hear and plan for.
There are actually a variety of treatments for improving the effects of gum recession, which also in the last few years includes a new technique called the pinhole surgical technique.
How Does Laser Gum Surgery Work?
Lasers are tubes that use powerful, specific, pinpointed light beams of thermal energy to accomplish multiple tasks during gum surgery. Lasers will:
- Both cut and remove infected and diseased tissue.
- Coagulate blood vessels to form blood clots to deliver stem cells for rapid healing.
- Kill and eliminate germs and bacteria.
- Sterilizes the entire damaged area.
Lasers perform by creating an energy change in atoms. The laser light shifts those atoms from a current resting state to a level known as the excited state. This results in the atoms producing energy called spontaneous emission.
When the atoms return to their resting state, they then emit particles of light called photons. This process provides the energy necessary to perform certain functions, such as cutting tissue without even using a blade.
Procedure for Laser Gum Surgery
Laser gum surgery is an innovative new treatment to address gum disease. Here is what you can expect for your laser gum surgery:
- Your dentist will place the fiber optic tip of the laser at the top of the periodontal pocket around the tooth. The laser is actually about the size of three human hairs.
- The laser will use very pinpointed light to remove diseased gum tissue from the pocket. The laser is designed to identify and remove only diseased tissue. It will not remove or even damage healthy gum tissue. The laser also removes disease-causing bacteria from the periodontal pocket.
- When the pocket is cleaned of damaged tissue and bacteria, the laser is briefly set aside.
- Your dentist then uses an ultrasonic cleaning tool to remove tartar and calcifications with sound waves.
- The laser is then reintroduced into the pocket to finish deep cleaning and eliminating remaining debris.
- The laser also sterilizes tissue and bone, also stimulating the formation of a blood clot. The blood clot accelerates healing and helps gum tissue reattach to the tooth. This eliminates the need for any sutures.
A local anesthetic is sometimes used, and it takes around one hour to complete the process. The process will not involve any pain but only a slight feeling of discomfort.