Laser Dentistry in Markham, ON

For almost 30 years, lasers have seen a rise in the dentistry field. They can cut through tissue or teeth using light or heat for a variety of treatments. Lasers help our Markham dentists remove tooth decay, a tissue that has been overgrown, inflammation at the gums, throat tissue associated with sleep apnea, and even a lesion or benign oral tumour.

They can also prepare enamel for a filling, reshape the gums, expose wisdom teeth, and activate the bleaching agent to help in whitening teeth. Besides, lasers can treat root canal infections, gum disease, and pain associated with canker sores and cold sores. What’s more, we use lasers at 7 Days Dental to take a biopsy or regenerate nerves that have been damaged.

Some benefits and drawbacks

Like most advancements in technology, laser dentistry is not foolproof. However, at 7 Days Dental, we appreciate the improvements to patient care that it has made regardless. Patients can truly experience a difference during and after treatment since the lasers can significantly reduce pain and recovery time.

There are many benefits to using laser dentistry at our Markham dental office, including:

Less discomfort
Less need for sutures
Less or lower need for anesthesia
Shorter healing time
Less bleeding and swelling
Lower risk of infection
Less impact on healthy teeth
Minimally invasive
Lower patient anxiety

Although there are some limitations with laser dentistry, our Markham dentist can compensate for this, as needed, by incorporating some more traditional techniques. We often find that our field’s progress does not always replace but complements the older methods.

Some of the drawbacks include:

Unable to use on teeth with fillings or to fill cavities between teeth
Unable to use around old fillings or on large cavities that require a crown
Unable to remove defective crowns or silver fillings or prepare teeth for bridges
It May still require a traditional drill to shape or polish a filling or to adjust your bite
It does not eliminate the need for anesthesia
Typically more expensive

Types of Lasers

Laser dentistry can involve two different types of lasers that require different wavelengths of light to cut into teeth or tissue, respectively.

Hard tissue lasers: These are primarily used to cut into and remove small amounts of teeth when shaping or preparing for dental treatments such as cavity fillings. They can also help to detect cavities in the first place, as well as manage sensitive teeth.
Soft tissue lasers: These can simultaneously cut into tissue and seal blood vessels that have been exposed by the cuts, thereby helping to reduce bleeding and accelerate recovery. They also work to reshape your gums, lengthen crowns, and more.

Laser takeover

Whether you have already undergone a procedure using laser dentistry or not, you will likely experience this technique at some point in the future. That is because modern methods like this are slowly replacing, or being used in combination with, traditional dental treatments. We find that our dental team, and our patients, typically prefer laser dentistry to the use of drills.

To learn more about laser dentistry in Markham, and how we can help you, please feel free to contact us at 7 Days Dental. We look forward to your visit.