By Joy Raskie RDH - July 12, 2021
What Is Laser Bacterial Reduction?Everything You Need To Know
As a dental professional, it is your duty to remain up to date on the latest technologies within your field of practice. Remember, your job is to serve your patients and to take their best interests into account. With that in mind, newer innovative dental technologies have paved the way for more comprehensive service and more varied options that some patients might prefer over others – even for routine visits, treatments, and procedures. One such new technology and procedure revolves around the use of lasers.
What Is Laser Bacterial Reduction?
Essentially, Laser Bacterial Reduction is a pre-procedural decontamination process that is completed in the beginning of a regularly scheduled teeth cleaning. It is a pre-cursor to help decontaminate a patient’s gums. While you might not realize it, hygienists often unintentionally move around bacteria from tooth to tooth during a normal teeth cleaning. Reducing bacteria prior to a teeth cleaning helps to reduce the chance that bacteria spreads from pocket to pocket. LBR is a simple and easy procedure that hygienists can use to prevent the spread of bacteria during a regular cleaning. Through LBR, you reduce this risk tenfold, and that is why it is such an important new development in the world of dentistry.
Now You Know The Process – But What About The Benefits?
The particular set of benefits that come along with Laser Bacterial Reduction is too significant to ignore. Firstly, let’s just take a look at the facts. LBR allows hygienists to reduce the bacterial count within a patient’s mouth down from the billions to just a few hundred for up to 6 weeks. It is a full-on anti-bacterial treatment specifically designed to prevent gum disease.
In fact, one could describe it like an organic teeth cleaning. Think of it this way – you might choose to eat organic foods because you don’t want to consume pesticides and artificial ingredients. Well, this is the same principle but with regards to bacteria entering the body.
LBR helps to reduce bacteria in your patients’ mouths which would eventually end up in their bloodstream, travel around their bodies, and create problems elsewhere. It is a sure-fire way to add another intriguing service that your clients and patients can take advantage of too – but it’s even better because it really works, and it really delivers on all of these benefits.
In terms of the results that we’ve seen with patients so far, you can expect less bleeding with hygiene cleanings, less tooth and gum sensitivity, and an overall cleaner feeling experience for your patients.
It’s Becoming More Common
LBR is quickly becoming one of the most common procedures that we’re performing on our patients – and it’s because of the benefits and the results that we’ve just mentioned. In fact, about 95% of our patients receive this procedure when they come in for their regularly scheduled teeth cleaning – and they all report a similar experience of an overall cleaner feeling after the entire procedure is finished.
You see, for dental hygienists, Laser Bacterial Reduction allows us to target those hard-to-reach areas that are difficult to get to during a normal cleaning. Additionally, lasers help to tighten up the collagen matrix within the gum tissue that surround your patients’ teeth. This will help to prevent bacteria from invading the gums between visits.
With that said, some dentists who are on the fence suggest that a pre-procedural rinse can accomplish the same thing. These rinses often contain strong mouth wash designed to eliminate bacteria – however, this process is not nearly as effective as LBR, and that is precisely where the difference lies. Mouth wash is really only effective at eliminating bacteria in the oral cavity, and it certainly isn’t strong enough to penetrate under the gums in the sulcus, where your patients are most likely to experience bacteria growth that can destroy the gum and bone surrounding their teeth.
LBR allows hygienists to target bacteria that lives in the sulcus, which is exactly where a dental hygienist will place their instruments during a teeth cleaning. If this bacteria is not eliminated, cross contamination and bacterial spread is likely during the cleaning – and that will certainly become apparent when your patient schedules their next cleaning session.
Incorporating LBR Is Easy
First and foremost, incorporating LBR into your practice begins with purchasing the right equipment. You can view all the newest laser equipment by clicking the link below.
On the other hand, if you already have laser equipment and are on the fence about incorporating LBR into your practice, let us remind you just how easy it is to receive laser training. In fact, our team can help you schedule and manage your training, so that you can incorporate this cutting-edge technology into your teeth cleaning processes the very next day.
When it comes to your clients, LBR is very effective for patients from all walks of life. With that in mind, you can feel free to start slowly with LBR. We would suggest determining the patients who might build up more bacteria in between visits and trying it on them first. From there, expand it out to patients who are on a shorter recall, say one visit every 3 or 4 months. This should get you accustomed to the process. Additionally, it will introduce your patients to the procedure slowly as well, so that they can also see just how it benefits them.
It’s Time To Get Started
If you are interested in laser technology and training and want to learn more about how you can incorporate Laser Bacterial Reduction into your dental practice, get in touch with us today. We would be happy to help you get started. Trust us – your patients will thank you!
It’s Time To Get Started
Get in touch with us today.