FAQ’s about Lasers in Dentistry

1. What is a laser, and is laser radiation harmful to me?

Lasers are simply concentrated beams of light, so it is really one form of light therapy or phototherapy. Therefore on the light spectrum, all dental laser wavelengths fall in the infrared or near infrared range of the non-ionizing radiation side. Non-ionizing radiation does not damage DNA, whereas it is the ionizing radiation like X-rays and Gamma rays that do.

2. If my dentist slips with the dental laser, will I be injured badly?

All dental lasers are very precise pieces of equipment and each pulse only do very little tissue change. The tissue change from one pulse of dental laser is so minute that you can barely detect it with the naked eye, compared to the damage you can imagine if the dental drill slips or the scalpel blade slips in your mouth!