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    Here at A Shop for Smiles, Dr. Hagstrom and his hygienist, Diana use soft tissue lasers in a number of different ways.  A laser is a device that uses light energy to perform work.  Lasers are unique because they can treat targeted tissue while leaving surrounding tissue unaffected.  It is this property amoung others that allow us to perform very percise procedures.  In addition, lasers may seal off blood vessels and nerve endings during a procedure lessening bleeding, postoperative pain, and swelling.  In many cases, due to thier gentle and precise nature, lasers are used with little or no anesthetic.  Below is some very detailed information on the benefits of our laser as well as the different procedures performed with our laser, here at A Shop for Smiles.

How are lasers used in Cosmetic Dentistry?

    When performing cosmetic procedures, one of the important things that dentists look at is the tissue contours surrounding the teeth.  Lasers allow dentists to precisely reshape these tissues for the best esthetic result.  This procedure is called a gum lift, gingivectomy or gingivoplasty and can be performed in association with cosmetic veneers or laminates.

    Another cosmetic enhancement that a dentist may perform is a gummy smile reduction.  When lengthening the visible portion of a tooth and raising gum lines, only the soft tissue may need to be altered.  Howeer, in some cases, the boney contours may need to be addressed as well and may perform a combined soft and hard tissue procedure.  A laser allows Dr. Hagstrom to recontour both hard and soft tissues precisely with little or no bleeding, pain, or postoperative swelling.

                                       

What is laser whitening?

    Laser whitening involves using a laser to speed the reaction of whitening gels and usually involves faster procedure times and enhanced results.  In addition, lasers are focused and target specific so they require less preparation to protect surrounding tissues. 

Is this a new procedure?

    lasers have been in use in medicine and dentistry for many years.  The FDA has approved the use of lasers for many dental procedures including those discussed throughout this page.

Laser use in Periodontal Disease (Gum Disease)

    Dr. Hagstrom has diagnosed you as having periodontal disease or gum disease.  This is an infection of bone and supporting structures of your teeth.  Before 30 years of age, decay is the major reason for tooth loss and after 30 years of age, gum disease is the major reason for tooth loss.  It is estimated that over 85 precent of the adult population has gom disease to one degree or another.

    Periodontal bacteria can cause an inflammatory reaction which leads to destruction of the fibers that connect teeth to bone and can create a space that dentists and hygienists call a periodontal pocket.  While everyone has some amount of pocketing the normal depths are 1-3mm.  You can keep 3mm or less pockets clean by yourself with routine brushing, flossing, and rinsing. However, in your situation, you have pockets that are deeper than 3mm and it is impossible for you to clean and maintian them.  As a result, you have debris and bacteria living at the bottom of these pockets which has led to chronic gum infection, you may have noticed a bad taste or odor in your mouth at times from these infections.  As we age, we become more succeptible to periodontal bacteria and lack of proper hygiene or cleaning is another reason for periodontal disease.  Without treatment your teeth will lose enough support to become loose and painful and eventually be lost.

                                                 

How are lasers used to treat gum disease?

    Dr. Hagstrom has recommended a conservative non surgical treatment for your periodontal disease.  With proper homecare and your participation, this procedure can often alleviate the problem.  Dr. Hagstrom or Diana will go around each involved tooth to remove any debris and calcified deposits that are adhering to your teeth in a process called scaling and root planing.  A good analogy to this part of the cleaning is like removing barnacles off of a pier.  Scaling and root planing will remove the mechanical irritants to your gums and supporting bone and also removes a major reservoir of periodontal bacteria.

    After removing the tartar and calculus a laser is used to selectively remove diseased or infected tissues lining the pockets around your teeth.  At the same time the laser will kill the bacteria that cause your gum disease and promote healing of your gums around your teeth.  Some lasers can help increase circulation and collagen formation at the bottom of your periodontal pockets and help revive or rejuvenate your attachment.  This specialized treatment is usually performed multiple times over a period of a few weeks.

Soft Tissue Laser Dentistry

    Lasers can be used for many soft tissue procedures.  These procedures include:

  • Reshaping or removing gum tissue (Gingivectomy).  These procedures may be done for periodontal or esthetic reasons or in order to gain access to decay.  Soft tissue reshaping may be done to gain proper shapes and forms for teeth and or restorations.
  • Clipping muscle attachments (Frenectomy).  This procedure may be used to remove an attachment that is interfering with normal speech or causing excessive soft tissue loss around teeth.
  • Removing soft tissue growths (Fibroma removals, Hemangioma removals).  This procedure is used to remove excess tissue or growths that may be an esthetic or functional issue.
  • Gently removing swollen tissues (Gingivoplasty).  This procedure is used to remove excess tissue caused by systemic disease, medication or poor oral hygiene.

    Lasers allow clinicians to very precisely reshape tissues to proper contours for the best esthetic result possible.  Utilizing a laser allows dentist to be precise and to perform procedures as gently as possible with the least amount of postoperative pain and swelling.

                                                                  

How are lasers used in Herpetic Leisions (Cold Sores)?

    Gentle laser dentistry focuses the power on herpetic leisions (cold sores).  Cold sores can be uncomfortable, unaesthetic, and inconvenient.  They generally break out in response to trauma, or whenever physical or psychological stress levels spike.  Once you experience the tell-tale tingling sensation, it's only a matter of time before a full-blown sore appears.  Then, healing can take as long as two weeks, and quality of life may be significantly compromised.  Therefore, it is critical to begin laser treatment before the sore has had a chance to develop.  Catch it in time with laser treatment, and the cold sore will not break out.

                                                     

What about Apthous Ulcers (Canker Sores)?

   Laser treatmeny is very effective on apthous ulcers (canker sores) for the same reasons.  The stinging sensation is eliminated in seconds and healing is rapid and uneventful.  Lasers are also used to facilitate healing other oral soft tissue trauma, such as:

  • teething
  • irritation from orthodontic wires
  • denture sores
  • extraction sites
  • periodontal therapy
  • injury
  • and many other applications

What are the benefits of laser in treating cold sores and canker sores?

  • It is high tech and yet is surprisingly affordable and is insurance reimbursable.
  • Photonic Laser Energy destroys the virus responsible for the sore.
  • Most of our patients who are treated when the lip starts tingling never develop a sore.
  • Profound relief is immediate.
  • If the sore has already broken out, it will progress no further after treatment.
  • The lip will return to normal in a matter of days, instead of in two weeks without laser treatment.
  • Not only will the lip get back to normal more quickly, but it will remain comfortable during the healing process. 
  • Each laser treatment takes just a few minutes.
  • The laser's light energy promotes healing through gentle "photo-biostimulation" deep within the lip.
  • After treatment, sores reoccur with less frequency and less intensity at the same location.
  • Remember, there is virtually no discomfort during or following laser treatment of cold sores.

Why laser?

    Laser treatment is state-of-the-art technology.  With our portable laser instruments, we can see patients with cold sores on a moment's notice.  Give us a call as soon as you feel one starting.  Prompt and efficient laser treatment can help you to get back on track feeling and looking your best.  You'll be ready to face the world again because once you've tried it, you won't stop smiling.  Frankly, laser therapy will be better than anything you've ever tried---period.  It's in a league of its own when compared to over-the-counter remedies and it outperforms antiviral prescription medication.  Treatment is accomplished very quickly and comfortably, without the need for anesthetic.  In fact, the only sensation that may be experienced is a warm feeling on the lip.  After just a few minutes, you will be on your way out the door.

Periodontal Disease and Inflammation - How it effects the body

                                                   

    Inflammation: the secret killer - In 2004, Time Magazine ran a cover story entitled "The Secret Killer."  It addressed "the surprising link between inflammation and heart attacks, cancer, Alzheimers, and other diseases, and what we can do to fight it."  The article reported that simply "flossing your teeth combats gum disease, a source of chronic inflammation."  We were pleased that the media had finally awakened to a problem that we have already identified and begun to aggressively treat.  We use not just floss and other personal oral hygiene products but also lasers to kill the bacteria associated with gum disease, inflammation and infection. 

    Describing "The Fires Within," Time reported that "hardly a week goes by without the publication of yet another study uncovering a new way that chronic inflammation does harm to the body.  It destabilizes cholesterol deposits in the coronary arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes.  It chews up nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer's victims.  It may even facilitate the transformation of abnormal cells into cancer.  "Chronic inflammation may be the engine that drives many of the most feared illnesses of middle and old age."  Be assured, we will not allow you to suffer the effects of inadequately treated chronic gum inflammation.  We are one of the few offices with the means to offer comprehensive therapy.

    The mouth/ body connection - The founders of the Mayo Clinic have declared:  "A healthy mouth can add ten years to your life!"  They were referring to a growing body of evidence that has linked serious gum disease, also known as periodontitis, to a number of "systemic" diseases that afflict the body.  We do not yet understand the exact nature of the connection, but studies emphasize that the benefits of having a healthy mouth go far beyond personal appearance and no cavities.  The possibility that pathology within the mouth can influence systemic disease has been suggested by the U.S. Surgeon General and in numerous investigations exploring the relationship between periodontal disease and coronary heart disease, stroke, pregnancy complications, diabetes, and bacterial pneumonia.

    What is clear is that treating periodontal disease  by eliminating infection and its accompanying inflammation will help:

  • Reduce or eliminate Bacteremias
  • Reduce or emliminate Cross Contamination
  • Kill Potential Periodontal Infections before they cause loss of attachment
  • Boost the immune system
  • Reduce the severity of other disease processes
  • And improve overall health.

    A portal of entry for microbial infections - When compromised by inflammation, the gum tissue that surrounds the teeth is a vast portal of entry for microbes.  Even inhaling bacteria and viruses that inhabit periodontal pockets has the potential to trigger respiratory infection.  Gum disease and tooth loss are related to deterioration of bone mass.  Periodontitis disrupts disease menagement by diabetics and doubles their likelihood of heart problems and kidney failure.  Pregnant women with periodontal infection are at risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight babies.

    How does that change oral health care? - Oral health care has changed forever.  Our recognition of the oral-systemic disease connection has fundamentally changed our practice of dentistry.  Simple "management" of disease is totally unacceptable.  Our greater responsibility is to cure periodontal inflammation and infection.  The Journal of the American Dental Association concludes that the traditional treatment model has not worked.  Witness the prevalence of oral infection today, in spite of conventional approaches to care.  Our new design addresses a comprehensive understanding of disease processes that allows us to more defintively focus on your needs with a new arsenal of weapons to fight chronic inflammation.

    Oral medicine - The link between inflammation of the gums and debilitating or even lifethreatening systemic disease is real.  Our multi-disciplinary approach is often coordinated with primary-care physicians with whom we are eager to work.  Together, we understand to physiology of the mouth, share patients with identifiable risk factors, and have the means to address their needs.  In most cases, the therapy provided in our office by our dental hygienists is sufficiently comprehensive to deal with oral inflammation and infection.  The sooner treatment is initiated, however, the better are we able to avoid the systemic consequences of inaction.  This is why we are so passionate about periodontal therapy.  More than just a simple cleaning, it is in every way the practice of oral preventive and therapeutic medicine.

    Changing the future - We use lasers to attack periodontal inflammation at the microscopic level of infection.  The power of its focused light destroys otherwise inaccessible bacterial colonies while simultaneously creating an ideal environment for healing.  Today, our practice offers our patients the hope of a better tomorrow by providing oral health care in ways that were science fiction only a few years ago.  We are not only cleaning teeth and creating beautiful smiles.  With our enlightened therapy, we are doing more than enhancing lifestyle.

  • Each time we treat a patient, we are changing their future.
  • We are prolonging lives and saving life itself.

FAQ's

Why does my dentist use a laser over other instruments?

    Lasers are used because of the precise control they afford the dentist and the comfort they provide to patients.  Lasers perform many functions at once.  Not only can a laser remove tissue but it can also be used to seal blood vessels and nerve endings, reducing bleeding and postoperative pain and swelling.  Dentists and patients also appreciate that may times a laser my be used with minimal or no anesthetic.

 What about pain?

    One of the biggest advantages of laser therapy is the fact that many times procedures can be performed with much less discomfort and postoperative pain than with conventional methods.  This is due to the lasers ability to seal off nerve endings an blood vessels and to be tissue specific during treatment.  Hard tissue lasers have been reported to have an analgesia type effect making the use of anesthetic unnecessary in many cases.  Since hard tissue lasers are used in a non contact manner there is also less heat and vibration produced versus a traditional hand-piece.

What about damage to my eyes?

    Dr. Hagstrom or Diana will have you wear special safety eyewear during the procedure.  These specially designed glasses also protect your eyes from other materials that may be used during your therapy.

How do I know if I need to have laser therapy?

    While lasers have many uses in today's dental office they are not used for every procedure.  Dr. Hagstrom or Diana will decide if laser therapy is appropriate for your particular procedure.

How can I be sure my dentist is competent to use a laser?

    Owning a laser demonstrates that your dentist has made a financial and educational investment toward providing the very best care possible.  Only a small percentage of dental offices have made this financial and personal investment for the well being and comfort of their patients.  Dr. Hagstrom and his hygienist, Diana have both been certified by the World Clinical Laser Institute for Soft Tissue Surgical and Periodontal Applications.  If you have any questions regarding Dr. Hagstrom's experience and or training please feel free to ask!