Laser Comfort

Odyssey Laser

In our office, we started using several kinds of lasers in 2005. One of our most valuable lasers, from a patient's point of view, is our Odyssey Soft Tissue Laser. 

Lasers are the most painless, precise and least traumatic way to handle any problem involving the gums.

I will tell you all about this laser in the details to follow, but first let's mention the good things it can do for you:

1. At Fiddlehead Dental, the most common use we have for our Odyssey laser is to avoid a particularly obnoxious step in having a crown done. If you've ever had a crown done, you may remember a time where the dentist or assistant pushed very hard on your gums for 5 or 10 minutes just before they took the impression with the putty. All this pushing creates a well-defined space around the tooth so the lab man can make a more precise crown margin. In our office we avoid this step all together by making one quick and painless pass of the laser around the tooth at the gum-line. It takes less than 20 seconds!
   
   
2. Another cool use for this laser is on "cold sores" (often called "fever blisters") and canker sores. Clinical experience has shown that if we can set the laser on a very low pulse and expose a cold sore to this light for about 20 seconds, you will probably never get a cold sore in that same spot ever again. The trick is to catch the cold sore with the laser treatment within the first day. For some reason the laser treatment is not as effective on "older" cold sores.
   
   
     
   
   COLD SORE (FEVER BLISTER)
   
   
   
   
3. The most valuable use for this laser is the removal of extra gum tissue with a completely painless procedure. There is not even any pain the next day. This kind of thing is useful when a tooth does not come up through the gums all the way,... when a filling or cavity is extremely deep and the gums are bleeding too bad for us to continue. In that case we just bring in the laser and pass it through the area for 10 - 15 seconds. The tissue stops bleeding and we can move on without any complexity.
   
   
4. We also trim muscle attachments between the lip and gums painlessly, without the use of a scalpel and stitches.

BEFORE..                                                                                        3 minutes AFTER! 

Sutures (stitches)  are rarely needed and many soft tissue procedures around the gums can be completed without anesthesia!

How it works

The Simple Science Behind the Odyssey Diode Lasers

The term laser stands for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation", which means a device that produces and amplifies light. The wavelength of the light produced will determine what types of tissues can be modified by the light's energy. 

The Odyssey Diode Lasers, emit an electrical current that is shaped into a display of monochromatic light. This light is then focused and directed into a fiber-optic thread which carries it to the target tissue. The resultant photo-thermal reaction results in painless vaporization at the cellular level.

The post-operative response of the laser care will usually produce a cleaner and healthier surgical site with less discomfort when compared to alternative methods of surgery.                 

Soft tissue lasers enable minor surgical procedures and decontaminate the area at the same time. There is less chance of infection, and some soft tissue procedures around the gums can be completed without anesthesia.

The laser also promotes healing for infected and irritated tissues. 
Since there is a favorable response to laser treatment, the resultant healing is less complicated and often shorter when compared to traditional techniques. In many cases, the laser can also be used to treat deep gum pockets that harbor bacteria and cause gum disease. 

THIS IS MEANINGFUL TECHNOLOGY!!