Laser focus
You feel nothing, and it tells us if there’s decay there to over 95% efficiency. So it’s very easy to find small areas, take care of them before they become bigger, and all of a sudden the bent of your practice is extremely preventive.
didn’t have my laser to create trough tissue for a better fitting crown or bridge.”
Finding decay
Lasers also come in handy in dealing with tooth decay. Angstadt uses a different laser called a DIAGNOdent for diagnostic purposes. It sends light into the tooth and gives a “bounce-back” on that light if there is decay.
“You feel nothing, and it tells us if there’s decay there to over 95% efficiency,” Angstadt said. “So it’s very easy to find small areas, take care of them before they become bigger, and all of a sudden the bent of your practice is extremely preventive. You’re finding things that are small, easy to diagnose and then easy to treat with the Waterlase laser.”
The happiness factor
Angstadt said the lasers, used in conjunction with flowable composites, which have replaced amalgams for fillings, and newer bonding materials all combine to make for happier patients because they are spending less time in the chair and experiencing less discomfort.
And better still, the patient walks away with an extremely durable restoration that will last “for years if not decades,” he said.
“Let’s not forget the happiness factor,” Angstadt said. “For a patient to come in and say, ‘Wait, we’re done? I just felt tapping on my tooth. That was it?’ Some patients feel nothing at all, others feel a little bit of tapping. Some might say I’m too sensitive for that and we get them a little numb. It’s really not a big deal.”
Nothing to fear
Angstadt stressed that patients need not be fearful.
“Over 50% of the folks who avoid going to the dentist, it’s because they had a bad experience or they’re just afraid, and oftentimes fears are unfounded,” he said.
But putting off dental visits often leads to more problems dealing with issues that could have been handled quickly, easily and with less expense with a preventive approach.
Coffee talks
“We always determined our practice was going to be cutting edge technology: best possible care, best possible materials, best possible technology,” Angstadt said. “Have conversations with patients. Dentistry really is co-care. We sit down and discuss patients’ needs with the patient and try and resolve what they need by having a coffee-talk-like conversation: Come sit at my ‘kitchen table,’ let’s talk. It’s having that conversation and bringing in technology and telling patients what the advantages are.”
Angstadt compared sharing the benefits of laser dentistry with being a missionary.
“When you have a piece of knowledge and you know it can make somebody’s life better, you want to tell them about it,” he said. “And lasers are definitely one of those things. I get excited about telling people I’ve got something that can really make your life better. We can do this for you. It’s exciting to share that information.”
Angstadt Family Dentistry has offices in Wyomissing, Exton and Lancaster. The Exton office is at 319 N. Pottstown Pike, Suite 106. Call 610-5941050. To learn more, visit angstadtfamilydental. com.