Let’s face it: no one likes a dental drill. The noise, the smell, the feeling—isn’t there a better way? Lucky for you, there is now, and we have it here at Lake Baldwin Dental! Meet Solea, the drill-free alternative for your next dental filling.
Ditch the Drill for Your Next Filling!
Obviously, we hope you never get cavities. Prevention is always our first goal, but even the best brushers in the world might need a filling now and then. When dental decay strikes, we always try to treat it as quickly and comfortably as possible. We’ve worked hard to create a low-stress, spa-like experience here at LBD, from the moment you walk in the door, through every part of your dental healthcare. Solea is one more powerful tool to give you the best quality treatments with more comfort than you could imagine.
What Makes No Drill Fillings a Different Experience?
Traditionally, going for a dental filling started with at least one injection to get numb, and may patients need more than one shot. That’s because drills create friction, which creates heat, which can trigger pain in the tooth. But with no drill fillings, we’ve eliminated the heat and friction! Using a low-energy CO2 laser, we can prepare your tooth for a filling virtually pain free, no shots required.
With Solea, most patients don’t need any numbing at all. In rare cases, some patients request just a drop or two to help with a sensation of sensitivity to the water we use to flush the area. Overall, in the few years we’ve been using this amazing technology, the vast majority of our patients experience no pain at all and say they never want another filling the old-fashioned way.
For patients with dental anxiety or phobia, Solea has another major benefit: no high-pitched drill noise. While the laser is not completely silent, it works without the all too familiar sound of the drill. Many of us have long-standing negative associations with the dreaded whine from fillings past. By eliminating the noises and sensations we’ve come to expect over the years, Solea eliminates anxiety triggers and has helped many of our patients overcome their dental fears.
Swapping out the drill for a laser has another major benefit: it’s faster! No drill dental fillings with Solea take a fraction of the time compared to the old way. This comes in especially handy with young children. Kids do so much better with the laser than other methods for treating cavities. They no longer have to worry about shots or struggling to sit still for a long appointment. We’ve found the laser cuts your time in the chair in half for most fillings!
Solea Goes Beyond the Basics
If you saw our last blog about treating a tongue tie, then you got a glimpse of why Solea is such a powerhouse in our office. Its capabilities go far beyond fillings. With this high-precision low-energy laser, we can treat a variety of problems involving both hard tissue like teeth and soft tissue like the gums, lips, and tongue.
For example, many patients need their gums adjusted for a variety of cosmetic or medical reasons. The gum tissue can become enlarged and overgrown due to recent orthodontic treatment or certain medications. With Solea, we can recontour the gum tissue with amazing comfort. Even compared to previous laser therapies for the gums, patients report that Solea is significantly more comfortable, and their healing time has been far quicker. In many cases, patients report that their gums heal completely within a day or two! We can also use it to treat canker sores, tongue ties, small growths, and more.
Not every case is appropriate for treatment with Solea, unfortunately. We try to use it wherever possible, but there will always be those cases where the old way will give us the best results. The good news is that this technology continues to improve as time goes on, meaning there may be a very near future where we never have to pick up a drill again!
How No Drill Fillings Work with Solea
Sounds amazing, right? So how does Solea work? Solea is a computer-controlled isotopic low-energy CO2 light. The specific wavelength used with this laser can be adjusted to match each specific treatment. For example, we use a stronger setting for no drill cavity fillings and a less powerful setting for treating small soft tissue lesions like a canker sore. The laser is FDA-approved and has been around for nearly a decade.
Solea performs with amazing precision. In fact, we typically find that fillings using this laser require less damage to the enamel than traditional methods like the drill. The laser has an added benefit of killing decay-causing bacteria, meaning that we can guarantee a cleaner cavity prep and a more successful long-term prognosis for our fillings. When working on soft tissue, the laser closes the wound as it works, meaning no bleeding and super-fast healing.
Here at LBD, we always want to give our patients the best. You deserve it! That’s why we keep our eye out for truly amazing technology to improve your dental experience. Solea is revolutionizing our practice. If you’re looking for a low-stress, pain-free, no drill cavity filling near you, give us a call to find out if Solea might be the answer! Keep smiling, Orlando!
