Advanced Treatment for Better Results and Improved Comfort

Laser Dentistry San Jose

In the late 1980s, Dr. Robert Barr became the second dentist in the United States to use lasers in his dental treatments. He quickly found that this new technology yielded a multitude of wonderful benefits for his patients, and has since pioneered techniques that help patients achieve and maintain dental health better than traditional dental tools can. While dental drills can pain, pressure, heat, and vibrations, Dr. Barr learned that lasers could perform tasks such as treating cavities – without the need for an anesthetic! Today, Dr. Barr uses lasers in performing periodontics (cleaning of teeth below the gum line), gum reshaping, and root canal therapy. As a respected and credentialed authority on laser dentistry, Dr. Barr also offers seminars on how to use laser equipment to fellow dentists. To learn more about the many benefits of laser dentistry performed at our San Jose, California office, please contact us today.

Laser Dentistry Procedures

Wavelength-Optimized Periodontal Therapy : Dr. Barr pioneered a thorough, precise method of treating calculus accumulation, gum disease, and bone regeneration with the use of multiple wavelength lasers and named it Wavelength-Optimized Periodontal Therapy (WPT). Lasers remove calculus (tartar) from root surfaces more meticulously than traditional dental methods. In addition, lasers treat root surfaces and promote better tissue attachment. Gum disease is caused by a bacterial infection of the tissue around the teeth, below the gum line. In order to remove all of the toxins, bacteria and decontaminate the root surface, the tooth itself must be treated by the laser.  This is required to stimulate the gum to attach back to the root surface. As the laser removes the diseased gum tissue, it simultaneously stimulates the body’s production of healthy tissue and bone by six times over the traditional procedures used in dentistry. The faster the body heals the less time there is for bacteria to contaminate the newly created bone and gum tissue. Expediting this process enables the benefit of allowing the body to heal itself. The laser is the only instrument that can control the bacterial infection by reducing or eliminating all bacteria and their toxins, which results in reducing the pockets more successfully. Lasers also enhance the development of blood clots, producing stronger clots that serve to quicken the effectiveness of the healing process. The development of this type of blood clot results in a clot that is much more stable and durable than anything achievable with traditional dentistry techniques.

Gum Reshaping

The frame your gums provide for your teeth is an important factor in the appearance of your smile. If you have excessive gum tissue covering your teeth (sometimes called a “gummy” smile), laser dentistry performed by Dr. Barr at his San Jose office can reshape the gums, giving the teeth a healthy, symmetrical appearance. The laser gently removes the excess gum tissue, leaving you with a beautiful smile that frames your teeth naturally. The process is fast and involves little or no pain. Healing takes place almost immediately. 

Root Canal Therapy

When trauma or excessive decay to a tooth’s outer structure causes the tooth’s inner pulp (nerve tissue) to become infected or to die, the pulp and bacterial infection must be removed in order to salvage the tooth. Root canal therapy is the process of removing the diseased nerve tissue and bacteria. It then is replaced with a specially medicated filling material which eliminates the bacterial infection, and seals the tooth to prevent any further infection. The end result provides the patient a fully functional tooth that can last the rest of his or her life. The laser techniques used at Barr Family Dentistry allow for thorough cleaning of root canals. The energy from the laser can penetrate the smallest tubules of the root canal, resulting in a more complete removal of harmful bacteria.

Learn More about Laser Dentistry

If you are in need of root canal therapy, gum reshaping, or deep cleaning of your gums and tooth roots, laser dentistry offered at our San Jose office can help you improve your dental health safely, painlessly, and more effectively than traditional treatments. To learn more, please contact us today.