Healthy Gums are Not Affected by Laser Dentistry

Does LANAP Affect Healthy Gums?

Dr. Alexander Lezhansky uses laser dentistry for removal of bacteria and infected tissue while comfortably preserving healthy gum tissue.

Modern periodontal treatment includes the Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure, or LANAP, to treat gum disease very effectively. This procedure replaces the previous osseous surgery where the surgeon would cut into the gums, debride the teeth, and clean the teeth. The protocol for that method included cutting off the excess gum.

The ideal healthy pocket depth is 3mm. In traditional periodontal surgery, if you had a pocket that had become 12mm deep due to periodontal disease, we would surgically remove 8-9mm of gum in order to return the pocket to the ideal depth. In essence a byproduct of the surgery was that more of the tooth would be exposed, which caused teeth to look longer and be more sensitive.

With LANAP part of the procedure includes disinfecting the periodontally evolved tooth. Periodontal disease is the major reason why patients lose bone; bacteria cause inflammation and the human body reacts to this inflammation by moving the bone further away from the bottom tip of the pocket, which creates bone loss. LANAP disinfects the entire pocket.

We mechanically remove all the debris in the pocket and then at the final stage we purposefully create a blood clot to initiate the healing mechanism necessary to regenerate bone there. In this way LANAP helps regenerate bone, so it is a very powerful periodontal tool in our practice.

A very impressive feature of the LANAP is that the laser differentiates between healthy and unhealthy tissue. By using it we are not jeopardizing the healthy tissue. Most bacteria have a certain coloration in the center, the mitochondria. Our laser specifically targets that range of color, so that with LANAP we are not removing tissue.

The healthy gums are well preserved with this procedure, while the bad bacteria and infection are removed with the laser. LANAP is very comfortable for the patient, and therefore helps the patient adhere to a routine cleaning schedule because they do not have to anticipate discomfort in the dental chair.

Dr. Alexander Lezhansky

Bright Smile Design Dental

Office in Manhattan and Brooklyn

New Patients Welcome