Lasers, short for light amplification stimulated by emission of radiation, have a curious history in fiction and fact born from the theories of Albert Einstein. Derived from the 1917 “Quantum Theory of Radiation” paper the renowned physicist wrote, lasers became the stuff of sci-fi fantasy for decades before being realized in the real world.
Now, lasers are a part of everyday life, used in all manner of devices, and they’re an essential part of medicine, especially in surgery. Laser dentistry is another facet of this technology being used in medicine, and we offer it to help you treat conditions to improve dental health and give you a brighter smile.
Nublatt Dental, located in the East Village, Manhattan, New York, and headed by Dr. Adam Nusblatt, for which it’s named, offers laser dentistry and many other methods to keep teeth and gums healthy for life.
A treatment option that became commonplace in the 1990s, laser dentistry utilizes focused light with energy that can reshape or remove oral cavity tissue. The type of laser varies with the condition, and in some cases, both hard and soft tissue lasers can be used in the same treatment.
To have this treatment done, you’re fitted with special goggles to protect your eyes from the light emitted. The lasers are applied through a pen-like device that works on different wavelengths, with CO2 and diode lasers used for soft tissue, and Er and Er,Cr lasers used in hard tissue treatment, such as teeth.
Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, or low-level laser therapy (LLLT), can also be used to heal tissue and reduce pain and inflammation.
Treatments done with laser devices vary by soft or hard tissue. This includes detecting cavities, applying dental fillings, assisting with tooth preparation, and helping with tooth sensitivity. Soft tissue can also be reshaped or removed. Removal of soft tissue folds helps treat obstructive sleep apnea and problems with the frenulum, the skin under the tongue that anchors it to the bottom of your mouth.
Other ways it helps with dental problems include tumor removal, optical coherence tomography, nerve regeneration, and relieving pain in your temporomandibular (TMJ) joint.
To improve your teeth’s appearance, laser dentistry has proven very useful in providing these treatments:
Combined with the bleaching gels often used in whitening treatments, a laser heats the gel to start the bleaching process and clear particles from teeth.
Removing plaque, tartar, and bacteria from teeth to prevent damage is often done by scraping with metal devices, but lasers can help remove these harmful substances to keep teeth healthy
Also known as a gingivectomy, this process reshapes and eliminates excess tissue to expose more teeth when dealing with problems like a gummy smile.
Lasers are here to stay in dentistry, and to find out how they can help your teeth, make an appointment with Dr. Nusblatt and the team at Nusblatt Dental today.
