Instructions:
Laser-assisted bleaching versus home bleaching.
A,B, Appearance of teeth before and after home bleaching procedure.
A, The initial shade of upper teeth was A3 on the Vitapan Classical Shade Guide on gingival and middle thirds and A4 on the incisal third. Lower teeth were graded as C4.
B, Lower arch after 10 days of home tooth whitening(upper arch before bleaching) with cheek retractors in place. Lower teeth improved from C4 to D3, a six-step change on the value-oriented Vitapan shade guide.
C. Laser-assisted bleaching of upper arch. Paint-on dental dam is in place, and bleaching material has been applied to teeth. Note cotton protecting lower arch and safety glasses protecting the patient’s eyes.
D. Handpiece applying laser energy to bleaching material.
E. Completed laser bleaching of upper arch.
F. Postoperative view of laser bleaching results at 48h.
G. Immediate postoperative view of second laser bleaching on upper arch and first laser bleaching lower teeth improved from A2 for the gingival and middle thirds and B2 for the incisal third to A3 for the gingival third and A1 for the middle and incisal thirds. Ten days after laser bleaching, lower teeth shade improved from D3 to D2, a six-step change.
H. Six-month postoperative view of laser bleaching result.
The most powerful application of the dental diode laser is in soft tissue surgical procedures. Because you are ablating the tissue, you get simultaneous hemostasis at the site. Unlike a scalpel, a laser allows you to cut tissue without causing bleeding. Considering its mechanism of action, a laser also allows you to eliminate bacteria. Unlike with electrosurgery, there is no current applied to the body by a laser which means much less charring of tissue. A laser is useful anywhere you previously would have used the other instruments, but a laser offers some increased functionality.
Exposing Crown Margins: Put your retraction cord away. Diode lasers allow you to lightly trough tissue covering the margins of your preparation while also helping to control any bleeding. This allows a more accurate digital impression or traditional tray impression.
Esthetic Crown Lengthening: Diode lasers are great for quick and clean soft tissue crown lengthening.
Whitening: Some manufacturers also have systems developed to use the diode laser in conjunction with whitening gels for increased whitening efficiency.
