The majority of grown adults will experience some form of gum disease or condition during their life. While traditional methods of treating gum disease rely on surgical procedures to remove unwanted bacteria and give patients back their winning smile, Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure or LANAP is a new form of treatment that is less invasive and provides excellent results.
Recent studies show that periodontal disease (diseases relating to gums) plays an important role in increasing the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The importance of procedures such as LANAP is immense, helping provide alternative solutions to a massive issue that most adults will deal with at some point during their lifetime.
LANAP procedure is the future of periodontal treatment and care for most patients.
What is LANAP?
Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure (LANAP) is a procedure used for treating a periodontal disease that utilizes lasers to kill off the bacteria causing the disease in the first place. The procedure is minimally invasive and relatively painless for the patients. The use of lasers enables a periodontist to safely target the precise area where an intervention is needed and pinpoint the sections that will receive laser treatment.
Not only is LANAP able to successfully target the problem areas that need treatment, but the surrounding tissue avoids damage and the recovery time after the procedure is minimal. Actually, most of the patients need no downtime after the procedure.
LANAP is a state-of-the-art technology that ensures long-term results while making the procedure as painless as possible and minimizing the recovery times for patients. As such, LANAP is an excellent choice for the treatment of periodontal diseases and is currently the only FDA-approved laser treatment for such diseases.
Benefits of Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure (LANAP)
The growing popularity of LANAP is a direct result of the benefits and long-term effects of the procedure on the patients. These are just a few of them:
- LANAP treatment shows a very high success rate in the treatment of periodontal disease. All of the other benefits would pale in comparison if LANAP was not able to clearly demonstrate the amazing results that it does.
- LANAP is one of the safest procedures for treating periodontal disease. The excellent track record currently links zero potentially harmful effects with the actual treatment.
- The treatment is much less invasive compared to the traditional methods that include surgery and the use of scalpels. LANAP causes less discomfort and the healing time is much shorter as well.
- Patients that undergo LANAP heal quickly, often requiring no downtime upon the completion of the treatment. The slight discomfort and irritation caused by the procedure goes away within hours and you can function normally in no time.
- LANAP targets bacteria directly and the surrounding tissue does not experience the same type of discomfort. This means that bleeding and inflammation are just 10% of what a regular treatment causes on average. LANAP is minimally invasive and it leaves little to no traces of side effects.
- Since LANAP is a very focused and targeted treatment that does not damage the surrounding tissue, the gum recession is much less noticeable.
- LANAP procedure can play an important role in preserving your natural teeth. By treating the affected areas only and avoiding to cause damage to the surrounding tissue, the treatment prolongs the life of your teeth and leaves extraction as a last resort.
When to Choose LANAP vs. Conventional Surgery
If you are suffering from periodontal diseases, there are just two choices you can make when it comes to treatment. You could go for the traditional route that requires invasive surgery and the use of scalpels, or you could decide to go for LANAP, which is less invasive and utilizes a laser to target the affected area.
Additional benefits of LANAP are that, on average, procedures last about 30 to 45 minutes and there is no lengthy recovery period. This means that most of the patients will only need a single, short appointment to take care of the issue.
If you are currently residing in/or near Lubbock, TX and you have been experiencing symptoms in line with most periodontal diseases, feel free to schedule an appointment with our team. Let Dr. Wentz guide you and see how the LANAP procedure can help you regain your dental health and improve your overall health in the process. For more information, feel free to contact us today at (806) 794-8365 and schedule your appointment.