laser

After you’ve worked so hard to make your teeth shine, the last thing you want is for your gums to cover them up. A gummy smile can make your teeth look stubby and short. But underneath those gums is a gorgeous set of pearly whites. Laser gum removal, also called laser gum recontouring, can reveal your complete smile. And best of all, it’s virtually painless, so you don’t have to worry about the laser gum removal treatment hurting.
Let’s take a deeper look at how exactly laser gum treatment can help your smile without hurting it.

How Does Laser Gum Treatment Work?

Back in the day, dentists used to use a scalpel to remove excess gum over the teeth. Needless to say, this was pretty painful and caused a fair amount of bleeding. Thankfully, laser technology has allowed cosmetic dentists to gently cut away and perfectly shape excess gums in a virtually painless treatment!
How does it do this? During the laser gum recontouring procedure, your dentist will numb your mouth with local anesthesic. This way, you won’t feel any discomfort. From there, your dentist will use the heat of a diode laser to remove excess gum tissue and shape a more uniform and smooth gum line that enhances the beauty of your smile. Lasers are incredibly precise and accurate, so the laser won’t target anything but the problem areas.
The treatment can be performed and completed in just one short visit to the dentists office.

What Are Laser Gum Recontouring Results Like?

After your laser gum recontouring treatment, your gums will be pulled back to a normal length and shaped to best compliment your teeth. Your smile should look better than ever! Take a look at our laser gum recontouring before and after pictures to see what Water Tower Dental Care’s results look like.

What’s Recovery Like?

Unlike scalpels, lasers cauterize, or burn, while they remove your excess gums. Though this might sound scary, it’s actually really good for your recovery! Cauterization means less bleeding and a massively reduced risk of infection.
Your gums may feel swollen or a little sore up to a week after your treatment. But this discomfort shouldn’t be too bad or interfere with your normal routine. Your dentist will give you a low-strength pain reliever to minimize discomfort. You’ll still be able to eat, work, drink and speak normally, but you’ll want to stick to eating soft food a few days after surgery.
Don’t wait to get the smile of your dreams. Laser gum removal can painlessly shape your gums to provide you with your most beautiful smile. If you’re in Chicago, look no further than Chicago’s #1 cosmetic dentistry for your laser treatment. Contact Water Tower Dental Care to set up an appointment with us today!

Keeping your mouth healthy and looking good isn’t limited to what’s inside of it. Though teeth and gums get the spotlight in most dentist offices, cold sores can be even more unsightly and irritating than any issue inside of your mouth. Thankfully, dentists have the technology to get rid of the viruses that cause cold sores on your lips and around your mouth in just minutes. This technology comes in the form of lasers.

How does a laser treat cold sores?

Unlike other cold sore treatments, like creams or ointments, lasers get to the root of the problem. They destroy the herpes simplex virus that actually causes cold sores. How do they do this?
Well, a trained dentist uses precise laser technology to heat up the cold sore. This heat is carefully controlled to one area and never touches the skin, so it won’t harm anything around the cold sore. The heat from the laser not only kills the virus, but it also triggers your body to heal itself more quickly. The treatment only takes about 15 minutes to complete and requires no downtime at all. You’re in the dentist chair, and then you’re out!

What are the results like?

Since lasers destroy the virus, they can stop the cold sores from appearing at all if you haven’t broken out yet. Pretty amazing, right? Once the virus is stopped, the cold sores can no longer appear on your face.
If you already have cold sores on your lips or around your mouth, lasers will significantly speed up the healing time and provide you with immediate relief of symptoms, like pain or itching. The breakout will also stop spreading. You won’t require another treatment.
Since her virus can’t be cured, your cold sores might come back. However, laser treatments extend the length of time between your breakouts. In fact, after several laser treatments in the same area, your cold sores might never come back! Best of all, laser treatments for cold sores are affordable, and may even be covered by your insurance.

How do you know if you have cold sores?

You can recognize cold sores by their appearance. Cold sores form in groups of small blisters. After the blisters form, they soon break open and release clear fluid. Finally, cold sores will crust or scab over and disappear within 2 weeks.
In order to skip all of this unpleasantness, the best thing you can do is get a laser treatment before the blisters appear. Look for signs such as itching, tingling or pain on your lips or around your mouth. Swollen glands, fevers, and sore throats are also signals that cold sores are developing.
When you start feeling the symptoms, you should see a dentist as soon as possible to receive a laser treatment. That way, the cold sores will never appear. At Water Tower Dental Care, we do our best to see patients with cold sores within 24 hours. We can often treat them on the same day that they call! Feel free to contact us immediately after you start feeling cold sore symptoms.

Why is laser treatment better than other cold sore treatments?

We believe that lasers are the best treatments for cold sores, as do our patients who suffer with the herpes simplex virus. Here are just a few reasons why:

• It only takes a few minutes to complete and requires no penetration of the skin, numbing or anesthesia.
• Though the technology is new, cold sore laser treatment is affordable and may even be covered by your insurance.
• Patients receive immediate and drastic relief right after the treatment is over.
• Over time, lasers can get rid of cold sore breakouts in a specific area forever.
• Lasers get to the root of the problem by killing the virus.
• Laser treatment can prevent breakouts before they occur and stops them once they begin.
• Healing time is much shorter after a laser treatment with no more symptoms.
• Cold sore breakouts will occur less frequently and intensely in the area treated.

Do you feel cold sores developing? Contact Water Tower Dental Care today, Chicago’s number one dental practice! We’re experts in laser technology, and can help you control your breakouts for years to come.

When a patient has an excessive amount of gum tissue covering their teeth, they can option for a procedure known as laser gum recontouring, or more commonly referred to as laser gum lifts. This simple procedure can transform a person’s mouth and give them a more confident smile. So what are laser gum lifts and how is the procedure performed?
When gums become too excessive in the mouth, they can make teeth look small and stubby. This can be a cause of heredity issues, a specific health problem, or from the result of taking certain prescription drugs. While excessive gums can be unsightly they do not cause serious health issues. Gum recontouring is purely a cosmetic choice to give you a brighter, more confident smile. There are cases where recontouring is necessary however, typically when another procedure with the gums is involved such as crown lengthening and regenerative surgeries.

The first steps to laser gum lifts starts with a consultation with your dentist to discuss the procedure, various options, and what you expect from the outcome. While laser gum lifts can help improve your smile, you also want to understand the risks and challenges that come with it.
While gum recontouring started with using a scalpel, at Water Tower Dental, we use a soft-tissue laser which helps minimize bleeding and pain. First your dentist will use a local anesthetic to eliminate discomfort. Then, after marking the amount of gums to remove, the laser is used to sculpt a uniform gum line that reveals more teeth and gives your smile a more slender look. Soft-tissue lasers cauterize while they cut which helps minimize the amount of bleeding and discomfort while helping reduce the risk of infection.
After the procedure a patient will experience sore and swollen gums for about a week. While there will be slight discomfort, it will not interfere with regular activities such as eating, drinking, and talking. It is recommended to eat soft foods and to avoid spicy meals and foods that have seeds for the week after surgery. For any discomfort, the dentist will recommend a mild pain reliever such as ibuprofen. As with any mouth surgery, it is also recommended to brush and floss you teeth very gently until soreness and swelling is reduced. If your gums continue to cause discomfort after a week, it is wise to contact your dentist to ensure there are no signs of infection.
For patients that would like to have less build up of gums and a better looking smile, laser gum lifts are a great option. At Water Tower Dental, we can help reshape your gum line to lengthen your teeth, and eliminate a surplus of gums that distract someone from seeing your brilliant smile. As well, some patients don’t necessarily have a surplus of gums but rather an uneven gum line. When that happens, we are able to create a symmetrical gum line that keeps your teeth looking even and allows for your smile to shine.
The risks that come with laser gum lifts are low. Complications can arise which include excessive bleeding and swelling of the gums or allergic reactions to the anesthesia during the treatment. However, these complications are very rare compared to more serious dental surgeries.
If you’re interested in reducing your gums or creating a more even gum line, contact Water Tower Dental today and talk to our team of dental experts to learn how your can start your path to a brighter smile.