Common Questions

Why do you recommend LANAP™ Laser Periodontal Therapy over traditional treatments?

LANAP™ Laser Periodontal Therapy combines the proven methods of traditional gum surgery with the precision and benefits of laser dentistry. In addition to greater comfort and less recovery time, LANAP™ saves gum tissue that otherwise would be removed to treat the disease.

Because nearly all the gum tissue is saved, there will be minimal loss of tooth and bone structure after the surgery.  In fact a positive side effect of laser periodontal gum surgery is that in many cases regeneration and reattachment of the gum tissue to the tooth and bone is possible. This is never seen in non-laser methods for periodontal surgery.

How does LANAP™ treat gum disease?

During your treatment, the LANAP™ laser works on a specific wavelength - enabling the unhealthy diseased gum tissue to be removed while leaving the healthy gum tissue intact. This means there is much less post-operative stress to the mouth.

While traditional periodontal therapy removes tissue height to reduce the pocket depths, LANAP™ is a regenerative procedure. This means the patient does not lose tissue volume and the bone is regenerated.

How does LANAP™ differ from traditional gum disease treatments?

LANAP™ offers many benefits over traditional methods of gum disease treatment. One of the main benefits is that the procedure is now minimally invasive to the patient - meaning treatment is virtually pain-free with negligible post-operative discomfort.

Other benefits of LANAP™ when compared to traditional gum disease treatment:

• less bleeding
• less time in surgery
• fast healing and short recovery
• minimal removal of healthy gum tissue
• elimination of bacteria and reduced inflammation within the mouth
• safe for patient with health conditions and those of certain medications

How much will it cost? Is it more expensive than traditional treatment?

LANAP™ is comparable in price to traditional periodontal surgery. The cost can vary considerably depending on the degree of infection and damage to underlying tissue.  

The cost for full mouth LANAP™ is usually less than the cost of one dental implant with associated bone grafting to replace a lost tooth. Given that tooth loss is a typical outcome of untreated periodontal disease, an investment in saving your teeth now is well spent.

Dental insurance plans may assist in covering the cost of periodontal procedures. We can assist you in obtaining the maximum coverage allowable by your dental insurance plan.  

How long does the procedure take?

People with demanding careers or those who do not have hours and hours to spend in surgery are choosing LANAP™ over traditional gum disease surgery.

Traditional gum disease surgery can take several one hour sessions with many visits to your dentist. LANAP™ on the other hand takes only two 2-hour sessions and a couple of follow up appointments. This means fewer days off for treatment and an immediate return to work in comfort.

What will occur if I do not treat my gum disease?

Periodontal disease causes the majority of adult tooth loss. It is a chronic and progressive disease that has detrimental effects on both your dental and medical health.

For more information, please visit our pages on the Dental and Medical Consequences of Periodontal Disease.

What can I do to prevent gum disease for reoccurring in the future?

Regular dental and periodontal maintenance appointments will help prevent the need for future treatment of periodontal disease.  Research has found that bacteria can accumulate to the point of causing bone loss within three months.  For this reason, conscientious home care and regular appointments are very important.

Please visit our page on Periodontal Maintenance care for more information on this topic.