by Gregory R. Bowen, DDS
Lasers have been revolutionary in medicine, and now we find that they can be instrumental in the field of dentistry, and specifically for non-surgical treatment of periodontal gum disease. The incredible new technology started in the mid 1990’s when two Los Angeles dentists, Dr. Robert Gregg and Dr. Delwin McCarthey, were interested in lasers as a hobby.
They theorized that because the bacteria that cause periodontal disease were naturally dark pigmented organisms, they would be susceptible to a certain laser wavelength in the infrared spectrum, which is invisible to the human eye.
This was indeed the case. Fortunately, the organisms were fragile, and susceptible to the 1064 nanometer light. Dark puffy red gums would within a few weeks, heal to a normal
pink and firm texture, much like the photo shows. When they compared the results, they were both consistently getting with their semi annual cleaning patients, they knew they were on to something important.
As Dr. Gregg explained it to me when I was in California getting training on the Periolase, they knew they needed to go public and get formal research studies going to validate their findings. They also knew that the laser specifications they needed did not exist in a commercially available machine. So they decided to start Millennium Dental Technologies, Inc. and build and market these machines.
They needed an ND: YAG laser that was pulsed, and that the pulses of light could be controlled and varied. When set to a faster pulse the bacteria were destroyed more efficiently, when set to a longer pulse duration, blood would get sticky and begin to clot. Best of all, this particular wavelength was not absorbed by water, which comprises 70% of our bodies. The laser would kill the bacteria in all tissues, even bone, and remove
reddened infected tissue, but would not damage normal tissue. With traditional gum surgery, this was not the case. Healthy tissue was removed as well as diseased tissue. Best of all, there was no long, painful healing process involved. They named the new procedure L.A.N.A.P., meaning laser assisted new attachment procedure.
This was followed by several years of scientific studies some of which was conducted by an internationally known periodontist named Ray Yukna. His findings validated the Periolase as it was called.
In 2006 while reading DentalTown, a website for dentists with input from dentists all over the world, I began coming across lots of positive responses for LANAP and the Periolase. In January of 2007 I attended the first 30 hours of 48 hours of intensive hands on live patient training at the University of Colorado.
When I returned to my office I began offering this treatment to my patients and I also began to see phenomenal results with my patients who had periodontal disease. It has been almost seven years now, and several hundred people, including my own father, have benefited from this revolutionary treatment.
I've become so impressed with the oustanding results with the LANAP procedure and my Periolase laser that I want everyone who suffers from the devastation of periodontal gum to know that they have options. I discuss the symptoms of gum disease and all of the treatment options, including non-surgical laser treatments, on my new informational website Gum Disease & Effective Treatments at www.gumdiseasesanantonio.com.
Lasers have been revolutionary in medicine, and now we find that they can be instrumental in the field of dentistry, and specifically for non-surgical treatment of periodontal gum disease. The incredible new technology started in the mid 1990’s when two Los Angeles dentists, Dr. Robert Gregg and Dr. Delwin McCarthey, were interested in lasers as a hobby.
This was indeed the case. Fortunately, the organisms were fragile, and susceptible to the 1064 nanometer light. Dark puffy red gums would within a few weeks, heal to a normal
pink and firm texture, much like the photo shows. When they compared the results, they were both consistently getting with their semi annual cleaning patients, they knew they were on to something important.
As Dr. Gregg explained it to me when I was in California getting training on the Periolase, they knew they needed to go public and get formal research studies going to validate their findings. They also knew that the laser specifications they needed did not exist in a commercially available machine. So they decided to start Millennium Dental Technologies, Inc. and build and market these machines.
They needed an ND: YAG laser that was pulsed, and that the pulses of light could be controlled and varied. When set to a faster pulse the bacteria were destroyed more efficiently, when set to a longer pulse duration, blood would get sticky and begin to clot. Best of all, this particular wavelength was not absorbed by water, which comprises 70% of our bodies. The laser would kill the bacteria in all tissues, even bone, and remove
reddened infected tissue, but would not damage normal tissue. With traditional gum surgery, this was not the case. Healthy tissue was removed as well as diseased tissue. Best of all, there was no long, painful healing process involved. They named the new procedure L.A.N.A.P., meaning laser assisted new attachment procedure.
This was followed by several years of scientific studies some of which was conducted by an internationally known periodontist named Ray Yukna. His findings validated the Periolase as it was called.
In 2006 while reading DentalTown, a website for dentists with input from dentists all over the world, I began coming across lots of positive responses for LANAP and the Periolase. In January of 2007 I attended the first 30 hours of 48 hours of intensive hands on live patient training at the University of Colorado.
When I returned to my office I began offering this treatment to my patients and I also began to see phenomenal results with my patients who had periodontal disease. It has been almost seven years now, and several hundred people, including my own father, have benefited from this revolutionary treatment.
I've become so impressed with the oustanding results with the LANAP procedure and my Periolase laser that I want everyone who suffers from the devastation of periodontal gum to know that they have options. I discuss the symptoms of gum disease and all of the treatment options, including non-surgical laser treatments, on my new informational website Gum Disease & Effective Treatments at www.gumdiseasesanantonio.com.
