Laser Therapy

How does laser periodontal therapy work?

Lasers are tubes that use powerful, pinpointed light beams of thermal energy to perform multiple tasks during gum surgery.

Lasers can:

burn and remove diseased tissue
kill germs and bacteria
sterilize the area
they stimulate/promote healing & coagulate blood vessels

Lasers work by creating an energy change in atoms. The laser light shifts atoms from their current resting state to a stage known as the excited state. This causes the atoms to produce energy called spontaneous emission.

When the atoms return to a resting state, they emit particles of light called photons. This process provides the energy needed to perform certain functions, such as cutting tissue without the use of a blade.

The different steps for laser periodontal therapy

LANAP , or laser-assisted new attachment procedure, is used to treat periodontal disease.

LANAP is the name of the laser therapy on natural teeth, LAPIP is the name of the laser therapy on dental implants.

Here’s what you can expect for laser gum surgery:

Your periodontist will place the fiber optic tip of the laser at the top of the periodontal pocket. The laser is about the size of three human hairs.
The laser will use pinpointed light to remove diseased and inflamed gum tissue from the pocket.
(The laser is designed to only remove diseased tissue. It does not remove or damage healthy gum tissue. The laser also removes disease-causing germs and bacteria from the periodontal pocket.)
Once the pocket is cleaned of damaged tissue and bacteria, the laser is set aside.
Your periodontist then uses an ultrasonic cleaning tool to break apart and remove tartar and calcifications with sound waves.
The laser is reintroduced into the pocket to deep clean the bottom and eliminate telltale debris.
The laser also sterilizes tissue and bone, and stimulates formation of a blood clot. The blood clot speeds healing and helps gum tissue reattach to the tooth. This eliminates the need for stitches.

If you’re having your entire mouth done, you may need two visits that last 1 to 2 hours each.