You can’t say “root canal” without eliciting a wince or a cringe from even the bravest of souls.  But new laser technology now being implemented at USC School of Dentistry’s advanced endodontics program may take the “bite” out of root canal surgery, promising less stressful, less painful and faster healing results.

Laser therapy is still a relatively new technique in dentistry, with only five to eight percent of dental professionals using the technology worldwide.  But the trend is growing, explains faculty member Dan Kolzet, in the Division of Surgical, Therapeutic and Bioengineering Sciences.  This is particularly true, he adds, in specialty areas like periodontics, oral surgery and endodontics. 
                                                                                                     
The school’s new laser system, called the Waterlase MD, was lent to the school in March 2006 by the laser developer, Irvine-based Biolase Technology, Inc.  The cost of the system starts at  $80,000 (plus an additional $25,000 for training) for a unit the size of a small vacuum cleaner.  As Kolzet explains, the laser will be used solely for endodontic treatment, although the system can be used in periodontics and oral surgery.

Rather than the cold surgical steel instruments used in conventional root canal therapy, the Waterlase MD uses high intensity beams of light to handle a full root canal surgery, from cutting through gum and tooth enamel, to cleansing and disinfecting the canal itself.  Blood vessels and nerve endings are cauterized and sealed, reducing bleeding and the need for extensive local injections.  Some treatments to remove soft tissue – like removing fibromas or treating canker sores – can be done with little more than over-the-counter pain medication like acetaminophen.

“The benefit of using a laser is that you can be incredibly precise,” Kolzet says. “There’s less bleeding, less swelling and less pain.  We also see greater healing in the laser treated root canal surgeries.”

Endodontic residents are now being trained with the equipment.  Though laser treatments take up to 30 percent longer to complete than with traditional techniques, Kolzet adds that patient response has been positive.

“I think people with high anxiety about the surgery appreciate that they no longer hear that whizzing, high-pitched sound of the dental handpiece,” he says.  Instead, the Waterlase MD laser sounds like a rubber band being struck against a hard surface.  “The pop, pop, popping sound is much more acceptable to people,” he says.

The division’s goal is to use the Waterlase laser in 25 percent of its entire endodontic procedures.