Laser Treatment of Periodontal Disease: Features, Pros and Cons
Laser treatment of periodontal disease becomes a more popular choice of treatment in clinics across the country. Laser periodontal therapy is rather new. Over the past couple of decades, it has become very advanced and is now widely used for treating periodontal disease.
Laser gum treatment has a number of benefits that make it appealing to many patients. One of the key ones is that it’s non-invasive. Traditional forms of treatment require dentists to perform a surgical operation, making cuts, and, later, stitching the gums up. This is already a good enough point to convince patients to go for laser periodontal treatment.
Cutting the gums during laser gum treatment is not needed, thus, there’s usually no need for anesthesia. Of course, laser periodontal therapy isn’t completely pain-free, in fact, it causes a bit of discomfort, but it is by no means as painful as traditional forms of treatment.
Making cuts in gums and stitching them up after the operation raises the possibility of gum bleeding during the recovery process. With laser treatment for gum disease, there are no cuts or stitches, which makes the gums a lot less likely to bleed during or after the operation.
Speaking of recovery, traditional forms of treatment require a prolonged recovery period. The gums need time to get rid of the swelling, and the stitches need to be removed afterward. But if the patient goes for laser gum treatment, they’d be free to resume their activities the same day the operation takes place. This is extremely relevant for the majority of patients, as most of the time they’re on a very tight schedule, and the recovery period simply doesn’t fit into it.
As we already said, in the traditional forms of treatment, stitches would have to be removed after the full recovery process, and that already makes two visits to the dentist. In reality, there may be more than one operation needed in order to treat periodontal disease. Laser periodontal therapy lets the patients make just one visit to the doctor, which is also relevant to those who are tight on time.
You might think that laser gum treatment is only used if periodontal disease is detected at an early stage. However, that is not the truth, as the lasers nowadays are so precise they’re a more viable option for advanced periodontal disease treatment. What makes it more appealing is that the laser targets the damaged gum tissue only, while during traditional surgical gum disease treatment, some parts of healthy tissue can be cut. With advanced periodontal disease, it’s essential to leave as much healthy tissue as possible in order for it to recover and heal more quickly.
Laser periodontal therapy has a few drawbacks, too. One of the main ones is that some procedures can’t be performed with a laser, and this is based on the condition of the gum tissue. Also, drills and other surgical tools may be needed to fully complete the operation, as it’s hard to reach the area between the teeth with a laser. And finally, lasers are capable of damaging the tooth pulp, so the dentist must be extremely careful while performing the operation.
All in all, laser treatment of periodontal disease becomes a more popular choice among patients. Here are all the benefits of it summed up:
- No cuts or stitches needed
- No need for anesthesia
- Can be done in one visit
- Quick recovery time
- Lower possibility of gum swelling and bleeding
- Can be used to treat advanced periodontal disease
We hope you won’t have to use these tips, but if this happens, first you’d have to consult with your dentist. They would need to make sure you don’t have any contraindications and discuss the whole operation with you beforehand. The dentist needs to be professional enough to perform laser gum treatment. Professional laser treatment of periodontal disease is actively used in our clinic, which is located at 401 Avenue of the Americas, New York, 10014 close to Jefferson Market Garden. If you have any questions or would like to consult with our dentists, feel free to contact us and make an appointment.
