Gum Disease: How Laser Therapy Can Help

Periodontitis is a serious form of gum disease that can invade your gums and teeth and cause severe damage and loss. Unchecked, it can even affect your overall health. But many people put off getting the treatment they need because they know it involves scaling, scraping, bleeding, and even some pain.

But Dr. George Saliba at GEMS Dental in Houston, Texas, offers our patients a new treatment for gum disease that revolutionizes the whole procedure. The traditional method involves scaling and root planing to remove bacteria and plaque from your gum tissues and the roots of your teeth. In some cases, a dentist may even need to cut a flap in your gum to access the disease underneath it. 

But what once was a long and uncomfortable dental procedure is now a quick and painless experience thanks to laser therapy. Here’s how it works.

How we treat gum disease with a laser

Laser energy is nothing new, and it’s used in many fields and industries. In dentistry, we use it to safely and quickly perform the tasks we once had to do by hand. If you have periodontitis, the old way of treating it would be to manually scrape away the calculus that has built up under your gums and along the sensitive roots.

Today, Dr. Saliba uses the power of laser energy instead and eliminates the need for a long session of painful scaling.

He directs the laser at the infected gum tissue to quickly remove it and the underlying bacteria. Not only does the laser remove the diseased tissue, it also stimulates the stem cells in your blood and tissues to seal the area and promote healing and regeneration.

The perks of laser therapy

The benefits of laser therapy for the treatment of gum disease are numerous:

No anesthesia

If your periodontitis is advanced, you may need to undergo general anesthesia during your traditional manual treatment. But with laser therapy, the procedure requires no anesthesia. 

Less bleeding

Gum disease often leads to red, swollen, bleeding gums even before you come in for treatment. The traditional treatment for it causes its own share of bleeding as well. But laser therapy is far less invasive and much more precise, so bleeding is minimal or nonexistent before, during, and after the procedure. 

Less pain

With laser therapy for gum disease, there’s no need for drills, scalpels, or scrapers, so you barely feel a thing — no pressure, no noise, no pain. Our patients love Dr. Saliba’s gentle touch and calming demeanor and feel very comfortable during this procedure.

Faster healing

Because laser treatment is less traumatic and keeps tissue damage to a minimum, you heal much more quickly than you would if you had undergone traditional manual treatment. That means you can get back to eating the things you love and brushing your teeth normally sooner.

Saves your teeth and gums

While it can be argued that both traditional and laser treatments do their part to save your teeth and gums from the ravages of disease, the laser’s precision ensures that no additional damage is caused, and the healthy parts of your teeth and gums remain intact. 

Less risk of infection

Anytime you introduce foreign objects — drills, scalpels, hands — into your mouth, you run the risk of bacterial infection, even under sterile conditions. But laser therapy eliminates the need for these tools altogether. The procedure is fast and requires no extra touching or handling, so you have much less risk of infection.

Is laser therapy right for you?

If you’ve been avoiding treatment for your periodontitis and are wondering if you might be a good candidate for the quick and painless option of laser therapy, call our office at 281-607-1851 to schedule a consultation. Or you can book online while you’re here on the website. Dr. Saliba is happy to answer all of your questions and get you started on the right treatment for you.