Laser Assisted Periodontal Therapy

Laser Assisted Periodontal Therapy (LAPT), is a non-surgical and minimally evasive treatment for periodontal disease. LAPT allows the doctor to safely perform many soft tissue procedures in a fast, less expensive, gentle, and non-invasive way. Its also less painful than surgery.

Periodontal (gum) disease

Periodontal (gum) disease is an inflammatory condition of the gums (gingivitis) and/or the supporting bone and attachment around the teeth. Periodontal disease usually progresses from gingivitis to periodontitis.

Gingivitis

Gingivitis is an early stage of gum disease. Gums become tender, swollen and likely to bleed. This generally can be stopped with proper oral hygiene and treatment from your dentist.

Moderate Periodontitis

At the moderate stage of gum disease, the gums deteriorate and begin detaching themselves from the teeth forming gum pockets, which allows plaque to collect below the gum line. This causes tooth roots to become susceptible to decay.

Advanced Periodontitis

This is an advanced stage of gum tissue and bone loss. Teeth become loose and may even need to be extracted. This causes difficulties in normal everyday chewing and biting. If advanced periodontal disease is left untreated, patients run the risk of other serious health problems.

Until recently, advanced cases of periodontal disease involving deep pocket damage to gum tissue was controlled by cutting away the gum tissue so pockets can be kept clean and small. Surgery is a very radical and painful procedure, and may still be necessary in the severe cases of periodontal disease.

Multiple benefits of laser therapy

We treat periodontal disease with gentle scaling and laser assisted therapy. The diode laser used in LAPT cuts and coagulates at the same time, facilitating immediate hemostasis, faster postoperative healing time and fewer post-operative complications, like infection. It simultaneously performs minor surgical procedures and eliminates bacteria from the area. Sutures are rarely needed for laser wounds and many soft tissue procedures around the gingiva can be completed without anesthesia. We use very delicate instruments to gently remove any debris and hard deposits that are adhering to your teeth. After removing the tartar and calculus, we use a diode laser to selectively treat the infected tissue around your teeth.

The laser destroys harmful bacteria that contributes to gum disease and activates the healing process of the soft tissue. We find that laser therapy also helps increase blood circulation at the bottom of disease pockets and helps regenerate gum attachment. A series of treatments is completed once a week for approximately four weeks. With this approach, the vast majority of patients with 6 to 9 mm deep pockets can experience pocket reduction.

Call Doc for a free peridontal consultation.