Perhaps you’ve recently gone for a dental checkup and received the news that you have periodontal disease. While no one wants to discover they have a gum infection, there is a wide range of treatment options that will depend on your case’s severity. For example, laser periodontal therapy is a less invasive option than surgery, and it’s gaining popularity.
Periodontal (Gum) disease is very common. According to the CDC, 47% of adults aged 30 and older have some form of it. Those numbers get worse with age. At 65, more than 70% of adults have gum disease in some form. Periodontitis is dangerous because it’s subtle, attacking your gums with few symptoms until it’s too late. Fortunately, if caught in time, your dentist can treat gum disease with several effective methods, including LANAP laser surgery.
How Does Laser Surgery Work?
For a long time, traditional invasive gum surgery was your only option. Your trained periodontist would cut into your gums with a scalpel and remove the infected tissue after your deep cleaning. Then they’d suture your gums, pulling them closer to the teeth. The process was painful, and the recovery was fairly long.
Severe periodontal disease requires deep cleaning and surgery. Typically, this involves scaling and root-planing (a deep cleaning) specifically designed to restore gum health. Traditional treatments, while useful to deal with infection, are invasive and require a longer recovery time. Laser surgery is not only more effective, but the recovery process is shorter.
How does LANAP cure gum disease?
Using LANAP laser surgery, the periodontist first performs a deep cleaning, then uses a multi-head medical laser to target harmful bacteria in your gums. Simply put – the laser wavelength targets the diseased tissue without harming healthy tissue. It penetrates 4mm beyond the tissue surface and kills off bacteria that traditional scaling and root-planing miss. Once the site is clean; the laser interacts with the hemoglobin to create a stable fibrin clot. The gums are sealed. The process is effective in the regeneration of healthy gums tissue.
Reversing Periodontal Bone Loss with LANAP Surgery
Patients with periodontitis often experience bone loss in the jaw. This happens when harmful bacteria attack the jaw and periodontal ligaments, and infection develops. Tooth loss is common, and patients experience bone loss due to inactivity (the body maintains jawbone through chewing, if unused, it is absorbed). When this happens, LANAP laser treatment has been reported to be effective in repairing and reversing bone loss in some patients.
When making your decision about laser gum surgery, it is wise to gather information from professionals. The professionals at Think Implants and Periodontics are always happy to speak with you. Call us now at (610) 550-3333. Consultations are always free. Think Oral Implants and Periodontics, office located at 250 W. Lancaster Ave., Suite 215, Paoli, PA 1930
