Laser Dentistry with WaterLase iPlus® Encino, CA

Laser Gum Surgery

Perhaps one of the most significant advances that gentle dentistry has made is associated with treating gum disease. This condition is so common that most adults will suffer from some form of gum disease in their lifetime. The symptoms typically start with red, swollen, and bleeding gums but if left untreated, it can lead to gum recession. Receding gums are particularly dangerous because more of the tooth and roots will become exposed and open for attack by bacteria. Many people suffer bone and tooth loss as a result. Treating gum disease, therefore, is critical for preserving your teeth as you age. The traditional method of treatment involves pulling the gums away from the tooth and using metal dental tools to scrape off the bacteria, plaque and tartar that has formed on the tooth but underneath the gums. This can be uncomfortable to say the least. Laser dentistry has completely changed the procedure. We offer periodontic care, and our patients can have their gum disease treated by using lasers to break up the plaque and tartar. This will remove the irritant that is causing the gum disease in the first place. Typically, the gums will then return to good health. Since this is a non-invasive procedure, our patients start to feel better right away. Not all dentists in the Encino area offer this new method of treating gum disease, making it important to visit a laser dentistry office.

Laser Teeth Whitening

At Encino Cosmetic & Dental Implants, we can transform your ordinary smile into something truly beautiful. If you are tired of having yellow or stained teeth, you are not alone. In our high tech dental offices, we can perform an in-office whitening treatment with dramatic results. Your teeth can become eight shades whiter or more in a single sitting. The lasers essentially activate the whitening solution that is placed on your teeth. This means that your teeth will whiten much faster than if you treated them at home. While the results are stunning, the procedure is still entirely safe, making it an excellent solution for improving your appearance. You can also whiten your teeth using custom-made whitening trays, and while this works, it can take a week or two to achieve the same results that we can get in an hour. When trying to decide which option to select, consider how much time you have to spend whitening your teeth and whether or not you have an immediate event that you want your teeth whitened for. If you are pressed for time, you should definitely have an in-office laser whitening treatment. We can schedule you and improve your smile in time for a new job interview, family vacation, wedding, etc.

When you visit Encino Cosmetic & Dental Implants, we will work to the best of our ability to provide you with the highest quality of dental care and do so in a way that is relaxing and comfortable. By offering laser dental treatments, we eliminate the vibration, heat and pressure that generally causes discomfort during dental procedures. In fact, we even offer fillings without the need to use a drill. Laser dentistry is used in our office so that we can achieve our goal of keeping you comfortable. The technology is continuing to change and improve so if there are procedures that we are still using traditional dental tools for, we expect all or most of them to eventually be done using lasers. For now, we have implemented the use of lasers in our procedures to place dental veneers, fillings, crowns, dental implants, to whiten teeth, and treat gum disease, among others. If you want to learn more about how we use laser technology currently, call Encino Cosmetic & Dental Implants and schedule an appointment with our dental office.

WaterLase iPlus Compared with the Dental Drill

There is truly no comparison between the WaterLase iPlus and traditional dental drill. While they both can achieve some similar results, the way that they do so is entirely different, as is the recovery time. A dental drill takes longer to use, there is pressure associated with it, heat, vibration, and dental discomfort. With this new technology, lasers are used to address the same problems in a way that does not irritate the tissue that we're working on or the surrounding tissue. As a result, you're going to feel better during the procedure and you'll recover faster.

Why We Use WaterLase iPlus

In addition to ablating hard tissue during treatments for tooth decay or infections, this solution is a far more convenient way to address a large variety of oral health problems. The WaterLase iPlus also gives us the option of performing root canals in a more thorough fashion. This unique design and innovative technology allows us to not only remove the infected area, but to thoroughly clean the interior of your tooth. This will allow your tooth to recover far faster and prevent the likelihood of an infection returning. As a result, patients will report feeling better right away. This is also an ideal treatment option for treating gum disease. Traditionally, when you suffer from gum disease it is because of plaque and tartar building up underneath the surface of the gums. This area cannot be cleaned with at-home care simply because you cannot reach underneath the gum tissue. In order for us to clean this area of your teeth, the gums need to be pulled back so that the plaque and tartar can be scraped away using a metal dental tool. This is both uncomfortable, highly inconvenient, and will cause your gums to swell and become irritated. Fortunately, the WaterLase iPlus allows us to perform gum disease treatments in an entirely new way. This is a modern laser dental tool that allows us to zap the plaque and tartar underneath your gums, breaking it up without having to pull away your gum tissue. This means that your gums will not swell, become irritated or inflamed due to the treatment and, in fact, they will actually begin to feel better quickly once the plaque and tartar has been removed. As a result, we can complete a gum disease treatment in one sitting versus the traditional four sessions that come with many deep cleanings.