Lasers have become an integral part of modern day dental practice and almost 30% of dentists today own lasers in their practice .

Some of the aspects to be considered form a practice management perspective is that lasers reduce chair side operating time, minimize patient discomfort, in most cases reduce or minimize the need for anaesthesia, return on investment is predictable and gets better with proper training and experience.

Unfortunately not many dentists and hygienists are aware about various applications of lasers apart from a superficial idea that lasers are applied in periodontal disease management, gingivecomy and frenectomy. Continued education helps professionals upgrade their skills and knowledge which can help clinicians apply concepts and techniques toward maximum utilization of the machine, better return on investment and improved revenue generation for the practice.

The primary focus however is Clinician comfort, better predictability of surgical procedures, better patient satisfaction, higher patient acceptability and patient comfort.

This write-up aims to throw some light on the debate

“should clinicians introduce lasers in their practice or conventional methods are better “

We welcome discussions on this subject.

Introduction

Laser is a device which emits a beam of light through a process which involves optical amplification based on the principle of stimulated emission of radiation.

Laser stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

There are many types of lasers which include Gas lasers, Dye lasers, Metal vapor lasers, Solid state lasers, and Semiconductor lasers, among others.

Types

In dentistry there are 3 types of laser applications performed.

LASERS in General Dentistry

In dentistry the most common lasers used in a dental practice are the diode lasers.

The biggest reason for this is their small size, their portability, their low cost and their ability to carry out many dental procedures. Diode lasers were first introduced to dentistry in the 1990s.

Over the past two decades there has been tremendous amount of research, development, innovation and the modern day laser systems are portable, effective, efficient and can be easily used in regular general dentistry daily practice.

Applications

Some applications of Soft tissue diode lasers in general dental practice are:

Hard tissue lasers are of two types:

Some of the applications of hard tissue lasers in a general dental practice are:

Thanks to Dr.Ross , Dr.Kapil and Dr.Ashvath for sharing their thoughts.

( Disclaimer : This is not a scientific article. The objective of this discussion is to educate the general public & Professionals , to help them make better choices , create awareness about the various applications of LASERS in Dentistry )