Pain free laser dentistry

Last week I had a patient who needed cosmetic fillings on her two front teeth. Using the self anestitizing feature of the laser, the patient was in complete comfort. Upon reviewing the before and after photos, I was in amazement by how large the cavity was and that the patient had been taking a nap through the entire procedure. She walked out very happy with her new smile and not to mention that her whole face was not numb. We are seeing a lot of this when we use the laser. It provides good anesthesia for patients who have not let their teeth get overly sensitive before they seek treatment. If a tooth is already sensitive to hot and cold, sometimes we have to give normal local anesthesia. Patients who keep up with their routine hygiene appointments have another advantage, if we catch it early we are golden with the laser...
It is not universal, some patients that are apprehensive about treatment might also require the regular use of anesthesia as well as the laser. However, some of those patients do better with the laser because it doesn't have the old sound and sensation of the drill that created so much anxiety in the past!