Lasers in Dental Care (cont.)
What Are the Pros and Cons of Using a Laser?
Pros
Compared to the traditional dental drill, lasers:
- May cause less pain in some instances, therefore, reducing the need for anesthesia
- May reduce anxiety in patients uncomfortable with the use of the dental drill
- Minimize bleeding and swelling during soft tissue treatments
- May preserve more healthy tooth during cavity removal
Cons
The disadvantages of lasers are that:
- Lasers can't be used on teeth with fillings already in place.
- Lasers can't be used in many commonly performed dental procedures. For
example, lasers can't be used to fill cavities located between teeth, around
old fillings, and large cavities that need to be prepared for a crown. In
addition, lasers cannot be used to remove defective crowns or silver fillings,
or prepare teeth for bridges.
- Traditional drills may still be needed to shape the filling, adjust the bite, and polish the filling even when a laser is used.
- Lasers do not eliminate the need for anesthesia.
- Laser treatment tends to be more expensive since the cost of the laser is
much higher than a dental drill. Lasers can cost between $39,000 and $45,000
compared to about $600 for a standard drill.
Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Department of Dentistry.
Reviewed by Jay H. Rosoff, DDS, on March 1, 2007
Edited by Charlotte E. Grayson, MD,
on May 1, 2005.
Portions of this page © The Cleveland Clinic
2000-2005
Last Editorial Review: 6/17/2008
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