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:
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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 tep 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!
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Another cool use for this laser is on "cold sores", often called "fever blisters". 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.
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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 daw. 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.
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We also trim muscle attachments between the lip and gums painlessly, without the use of a scalpel and stitches.
The Odyssey Diode Lasers from Ivoclar Vivadent, Inc. represent the latest diode laser technology available for gum procedures and preventive care. It performs minor surgical procedures and in addition, eliminates bacteria from the area at the same time. Sutures are rarely needed for laser wounds and many soft tissue procedures around the gingiva can be completed without anesthesia for greater patient acceptance and comfort.
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. Light waves that emanate from within the visible and near-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum will be readily absorbed into body pigments like melanin in the skin, and heme found within hemoglobin in blood. They will have virtually no affinity for water and thus, it won't be absorbed at the surface as it enters soft tissues. Wave lengths located within the mid to far infrared range are attracted to water and the crystals found within bone and teeth. Thus, these wave lengths are primarily used in hard tissue lasers. With a frequency of 810+/-20 nanometers, the Odyssey Diode Laser's wave length falls into the lower end of the near-infrared spectrum, making it suitable for soft-tissue applications.
The Odyssey Diode Lasers, when activated or "pumped", emmits 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 laser creates an intense beam of light energy that moves through a fiber optic cord and when it enters the targeted tissue, the energy is converted into heat as a result of the tissue's specific pigmentation.
The primary use of a soft-tissue laser is the modification or removal of intra-oral soft tissue. The photo-thermal effects of the laser's energy allow the operator to modify tissues and control bleeding at the same time. 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. S
oft 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 gingiva 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 gingival pockets that harbor bacteria and cause gum disease. An additional benefit of dental diodelaser technology is its ability to reduce the pain and longevity of cold sores and fever blisters.
