If you have gum disease, then treating it as soon as possible is always a good idea. Otherwise, it’ll have time to grow worse and become a much greater threat to your oral health (and more). However, how you treat your specific gum disease matters, and for many patients at our Encinitas/San Diego office, periodontal treatment is often accomplished with the help of advanced laser technology. Known as laser assisted new attachment protocol, or LANAP, the advanced periodontal treatment offers several advantages in the fight against gum disease’s progression.

1. Laser treatment is minimally invasive

LANAP treatment involves the use of a specially calibrated soft-tissue laser as an alternative to a traditional scalpel during periodontal surgery. As gum disease advances, your gums can become severely damaged, and restoring your periodontal health may require trimming away these areas so that your healthy gum tissues can heal and reattach to your teeth roots. The use of the laser makes the treatment significantly more precise, which maximizes the preservation of your healthy gum tissues. Enhanced precision also means greater comfort as there is minimal trauma to the tissue surrounding the surgical site.

2. It eliminates bacteria at a higher rate

As your periodontist gently trims away diseased tissues, the laser also helps facilitate the eradication of harmful oral bacteria that cause gum disease. These microbes settle in pockets along your gum line (periodontal pockets), between your gums and teeth roots. Part of treating and managing your gum disease will be to eliminate these bacteria and their influence on your gums. With LANAP treatment, the laser offers enhanced results by eradicating nearby bacteria as it passes over your gums. This improves the results of your treatment and reduces the risks of your gum disease growing worse following your procedure.

3. Faster healing means fewer risks

Another benefit of the enhanced precision that laser treatment offers is a much more comfortable healing process. Unlike surgery with a traditional scalpel, LANAP treatment does not typically require you to wear sutures on your gums afterward. The heat from the laser helps accelerate your gum tissues’ healing process, allowing them to heal faster and with significantly reduced risks of infection. In addition to enhanced treatment results, this means your LANAP procedure will also boost your chances of keeping gum disease at bay for much longer.

Is LANAP a good idea for your gum disease?

Treating gum disease as soon as possible is always a good idea, and with LANAP treatment, we can restore your periodontal health faster, more comfortably, and with greater results. For more information, schedule a consultation with Dr. Kania by calling her periodontal office in Encinitas/San Diego, CA, at (760) 642-0711.