Utility

​Think of a diode laser as the Swiss Army Knife of dentistry. There are so many FDA-approved procedures that can be completed with a diode laser—like frenectomies, gingivectomies, implant recoveries, cuspid exposures, and more—that owning one brings an incredible amount of utility to a clinician. Essentially, any soft tissue work that needs to be done can be completed with a diode laser. And they make the work so simple! You only need to grab the laser from the counter, put a new tip on it, and get to work. Utility is the #1 reason dental offices should own at least one diode laser. When most offices purchase a diode laser, they say they intend to use it mostly for troughing, but then they see a patient that has a cold sore and they end up finding more and more reasons to use it. Read about Dr. Tanya Lawhon, who upon purchasing her first diode laser, found that it was in such high demand among her staff and patients that she now owns three!

 

Staying Relevant​

Technology is always evolving. Dentists who stay at the forefront of the learning curve are able to offer better patient care and are perceived as more capable, more advanced, and actually end up seeing a higher case acceptance rate from their patients. Having and using the latest technology fosters trust between a doctor and a patient because patients know that laser dentistry is a big deal. As much as it’s a medical tool, a diode laser is a great marketing tool as well.


Patient Comfort

As mentioned previously, using a diode laser in the office equals better patient care. There’s less anesthesia involved, a faster recovery, and the procedures are less invasive. The diode laser causes less tissue damage, less bleeding, and doesn’t require stitches. Overall, the patient’s body responds better to laser dentistry than the traditional numbing, cutting, and stitching that is involved in many of the procedures that a diode laser can now easily take care of.

​ 

Efficiency​

Using a diode laser makes a dental office more productive. There is no more waiting around for anesthesia to kick in, no more wasted time packing cord, and dentists can quickly perform a number of procedures. In fact, clinicians can do procedures in-house on the same day with a diode laser rather than completing part of a procedure, sending the patient home, waiting for them to heal, bringing them back into the office to perform the next stage of the procedure, and so on and so forth. There are many procedures the clinician can complete from start to finish on the same day with zero hassle. Most of the procedures performed use a topical anesthetic only and stitches are never needed.

​

It's Affordable​

​It’s very easy to justify the ROI (return on investment) on a diode laser. Not only does a diode laser expand the services a clinician can offer to his or her patients, but it also enables the clinician to refer fewer patients out to other practices, keeping the revenue in-house. This allows the dentist to get an incredible return on their investment, while decreasing patient chair time, decreasing procedure healing time thanks to the laser's precise and clean cutting power, which all in all, increases patient satisfaction. Here are a few of the procedures an office that owns a diode laser can offer their patients:  

  • Excisional and incisional biopsies
  • Exposure of unerupted teeth
  • Frenectomy
  • Frenotomy
  • Gingival troughing for crown impression
  • Gingivectomy
  • Gingivoplasty
  • Gingival incision and excision
  • Hemostasis and coagulation
  • Implant recovery
  • Abscess incision and drainage
  • Laser soft tissue curettage
  • Leukoplakia
  • Operculectomy
  • Oral papillectomies
  • Pain relief
  • Pulpotomy
  • Pulpotomy as an adjunct to root canal therapy
  • Reduction of gingival hypertrophy
  • Soft tissue crown lengthening
  • Sulcular debridement (removal of diseased, infected, inflamed, and necrosed soft tissue in the periodontal pocket to improve clinical indices including gingival index, gingival bleeding index, probe depth, attachment loss, and tooth mobility)
  • Treatment of canker sores, herpetic, and aphthous ulcers of the oral mucosa
  • Vestibuloplasty

 Most diode lasers used to be over $10,000 USD, but now, most on the market are priced under $10,000 USD, including Ultradent’s Gemini® 810 + 980 dual wavelength diode laser. When clinicians add up the amount of procedures they will be able to quickly and easily complete with their Gemini laser, they find that the investment is well worth it. It’s mind-blowing to see how much money you can make by owning a diode laser!