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The
Waterlase® uses HYDROKINETIC® technology to perform
a variety of dental procedures, including cavity preparation,
caries removal, tooth etching and a wide range of both hard
and soft tissue (gum) procedures. The
Waterlase® has been cleared for HARD & SOFT tissue procedures
for both children and adults. It
is a revolutionary new dental device that uses laser-energized
water to cut teeth.
BIOLASE received
FDA clearance to market the Waterlase® system for use on
hard tissue (teeth) on October 9, 1998. This combination
of YSGG laser energy and water-spray creates "HYDROKINETIC"
energy, and is a patented technology invented by BIOLASE
scientists and engineers.
What are benefits
of the Waterlase® ?
The Waterlase®
significantly improves patients' comfort in the dentist's
chair: 98.5% of patients treated with the Waterlase system
reported no discomfort during the procedure in a randomized,
double-blind clinical trial conducted at the University
of the Pacific. We have found that the majority of patients
we have used the laser on have expressed more comfort, less
anxiety, less bleeding, less swelling, needed fewer shots
and had shorter healing times than similar treatments using
other technologies (drills, scalpels, electrosurgery, etc.)
in the past.
Because it does
not cause heat or vibration in the mouth, Waterlase® may
ease the pain and anxiety of patients who fear the vibration
and high-pitched whine of traditional drills. In contrast,
the Waterlase® makes a gentle "tapping" noise. Heat and
friction from a drill bit can cause unnecessary hairline
cracking in a tooth while the dentist is drilling. For this
reason, we will often either use the Waterlase and/or our
air abrasion machine to clean out the edges of a cavity
preparation instead of using a drill.
Waterlase® uses
a cool-water spray to cut teeth without generating heat
or using pressure. Conventional drills can overheat teeth
during procedures, inducing discomfort and irreversibly
damaging the soft tissue or pulp underneath. Because of
the pin point accuracy of the laser, it can be more conservatively
used and thereby requiring less invasive tissue removal
to perform the various procedures. Due to the fact that
we can often do small restorations without numbing, we are
able to combine procedures and thereby completing more procedures
in less time and fewer visits for our patients.
How does Waterlase®
work?
The Waterlase®
system uses laser-energized water to cut teeth.
The Waterlase®
emits a laser beam that energizes a highly precise spray
of air and water.
Water droplets
absorb the laser energy and become laser-energized water
particles that, when directed at the tooth, rapidly remove
enamel, dentin and decay/caries.
What are some
of the limitaions of the Waterlase® ?
The Waterlase®
system cannot be used to remove dental amalgam (mercury
fillings) due to the vapor that would be created from the
removal of the mercury in the teeth. Therefore, we still
need to use the conventional drill to remove the metal restorations
and porcelain crowns, but we can use the laser to clean
up the remaining portion of the tooth structure under an
old filling and conservatively prepare the surface for bonding
of the new restoration.
While the Waterlase®
system is conservative, it is also slow in cutting the tooth
structure on a new decay. Therefore, we may start the preparation
with the drill and finish with the laser. The laser WILL
however, cut through composite fillings and do small gumline
restoration preparations very easily, conservatively and
comfortably. In addition, it etches the surface of the tooth
while it cuts making for a stronger bond strength to the
final restorative material we are using resulting in longer
lasting restorations.
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