Is LANAP Treatment Painful?
If you need periodontal surgery to treat your periodontal disease, it’s likely that you’re choosing between traditional periodontal surgery and a LANAP treatment procedure. There are a few key factors to consider when weighing your treatment options for advanced periodontal disease. These factors include pain, healing time, short-term results, and long-term results. To fully understand the significance of each of these factors, it’s helpful to thoroughly understand the particulars of each procedure.
In a traditional periodontal surgery, the periodontist peels back the gum tissue with a scalpel, exposing the periodontal pocket, and then uses the scalpel to cut away the periodontal pocket, disinfecting the area before suturing the gum tissue back in place. Because the surgeon is intentionally reducing pocket depth, the gum line will appear different than it did before the procedure. If it is necessary, this procedure may be followed by a bone or tissue grafting procedure to assist in reattaching the gum tissue to the surfaces of the teeth.
LANAP is usually a feasible option for patients with periodontal disease, though some patients with very severe cases may require traditional surgery. LANAP is minimally invasive and has a brief healing period that involves almost no pain or discomfort. Because the diseased gum tissue is removed with the specialized laser and not with a scalpel, there is less damage to the adjacent tissue and considerably fewer visible effects to the gumline; the patient’s smile is likely to look just like their healthy smile before LANAP treatment. The focused laser removes infected tissue and kills bacteria while leaving healthy tissue unaffected and uncompromised.
Unsurprisingly, traditional periodontal surgery can be exceedingly painful. Patients commonly receive a prescription for pain medication following a traditional surgery, and extensive rest is required for complete healing; in addition, it can be challenging to clean the gum tissue and teeth gently yet sufficiently while they are still painfully healing. In many cases, when faced with the choice between periodontal surgery and having all the teeth extracted and “starting from scratch,” patients choose the latter, as it can be a less complicated and painful endeavor. The LANAP protocol usually doesn’t even require pain medication following the procedure, causing very little discomfort. The recovery time following a LANAP procedure is also very brief, and patients can usually resume all normal activities within just a few days.
In addition to having a considerably shorter healing period, LANAP treatment has better short-term results, maintaining the appearance of the gumline and allowing the patient to resume normal activity promptly, including gentle but effective oral hygiene. LANAP treatment also has better long-term results, as it generates protective healthy tissue in a sterilized environment, preventing future gum disease from developing. The LANAP laser also encourages the regeneration of tissue and the reattachment of healthy tissue, helping restore the health and functionality of teeth that may have once been deemed irredeemably damaged. While LANAP is an ideal treatment for many, it’s not appropriate for all patients, so schedule a consultation to learn more about your own periodontal treatment to learn more.