James Jesse knows patients at his dental practice hate nothing more than the sight of the drill, so he added a new tool to his repertoire: a laser.
But what is surprising to most people is that Jesse started using a laser in his practice in Colton, Calif., more than 15 years ago. What is even more surprising is that few other dentists have joined him.
Even though laser technology has been available to dentists since the early 1990s, lasers are not widely used in dentistry.
But people in the industry say the technology is garnering more interest these days.
Jesse says he started using the laser because it eliminates a lot of the pain and discomfort associated with a typical trip to the dentist. Though he still uses the traditional drill and scalpel for major procedures, he relies on the laser for a number of purposes, including preparing a cavity to be filled, gum treatment and making incisions.
The laser also eliminates the need for a local anesthetic, he says.
"Ten percent of the population with the local anesthetic always feel the drill -- it hurts," Jesse said. "It's frustrating as a practitioner to cause people to have discomfort."
Only 5% to 8% of dentists in the USA use lasers, despite the advantages, says Gail Siminovsky, executive director of the Academy of Laser Dentistry.
The low percentage can be attributed to high cost of lasers -- up to $80,000 a unit -- and because many dentists are hesitant to break away from what they learned in school, she says. "Dentistry by nature is a very conservative profession," Siminovsky says.
Jake St. Philip, CEO of Biolase, a company that makes dental lasers, predicts the technology will become more popular as lasers are approved for more procedures.
His company's laser was recently the first approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be used as a disinfectant during root canals. Instead of using bleach on the inside of a tooth for up to a half-hour during traditional root canals, the laser kills 99.7% of bacteria in a matter of minutes, he says.
"Something that takes 20 or 30 minutes for something that's not very comfortable for the patients, you get in two or three minutes with a laser," St. Philip says.
When the American Dental Association meets for its annual conference in New Orleans in June, laser dentistry will be featured each day for the first time, says Richard Schuch, senior program manager of development.
Schuch, who says interest in laser dentistry has been growing considerably, says the conference aims to highlight the best available technology to educate dentists about their options.
"We realize the cutting-edge techniques people are able to do with lasers, and dentists should have an opportunity to take classes in that and decide if they want to incorporate that into their practices," Schuch says.
"Every dentist has a different need."
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