All You Need To Know About The LANAP Procedure

Dentistry has significantly advanced in the last few decades, becoming more elegant and non-invasive. One of the most popular procedures is the LANAP procedure that’s used for treating periodontal disease.

Over the past couple of years, more people have been diagnosed with periodontal disease than before. Two types of treatments are available for this: traditional gum surgery and LANAP surgery.

The traditional way of treating periodontal disease included folding the gums to expose the roots of teeth so periodontists can thoroughly clean the debris and tartar buildup from them. Even with local anesthetics, it can be an uncomfortable procedure, depending on the severity of each case.

When it comes to LANAP therapy, it’s a less invasive procedure that’s more comfortable than gum surgery and takes less time to treat the periodontal disease. The recovery takes less time and it’s simpler as well.

Because it’s a better option than traditional therapy for periodontal disease, here’s all you need to know about LANAP surgery.

What Is LANAP Surgery?

Laser-Assisted New Attachment Procedure or LANAP is a dental procedure that’s used for treating periodontosis. The difference between LANAP therapy and traditional gum surgery is the fact that the LANAP is focused on regeneration of the tissue around the infected area instead of eliminating it.

This procedure is minimally invasive and offers many advantages compared to any other periodontal therapy. It’s an FDA-approved way of treating periodontal disease and the most popular choice when it comes to patient opinion.

What Are the Benefits of the LANAP Procedure?

One of the biggest benefits of this procedure over traditional gum surgery is that it’s much less invasive. During the procedure, a LANAP laser is used which doesn’t cut into gums, avoiding gum shrinking.

The LANAP procedure is highly effective as well. The vast majority of patients have noticed a significant improvement in tooth and gum health after this procedure.

Some of the benefits of LANAP include:

• It’s minimally invasive – By using the LANAP laser, no incisions are made on the gums which is more comfortable for the patient compared to traditional gum surgery where the gums need to be cut with a scalpel.
• Less recovery time required – When comparing recovery time from traditional surgery and LANAP surgery, it’s a no-brainer. Any dental surgery requires a couple of weeks until full recovery while the recovery time after LANAP therapy lasts up to 24 hours. Because of this, most people decide on LANAP over conventional periodontal therapy.
• A lot less painful – When it comes to LANAP, it’s a much more comfortable procedure than regular periodontal surgery. This is because there’s no cutting, drilling, or any other invasive process during the procedure. The LANAP laser is the size of a human hair that is placed between the tooth and gums, clearing out bacteria and healing the infection.
• It takes less time than traditional surgery – The LANAP procedure takes around 2 hours to complete while traditional gum surgery takes at least 6 to 8 hours. This makes the LANAP more convenient for most people, especially parents and working people who can’t take days off.

What Does the LANAP Procedure Include?

If you’re leaning towards LANAP as the procedure to cure periodontal disease, it’s good to know what to expect.

The first step in the LANAP procedure is measuring how deep the periodontal pockets are. This is done with a dental probe after which your dentist can continue the procedure. It’s usually a pain-free part of the procedure which takes only a couple of minutes.

The second step includes using the LANAP laser that removes bacteria from the periodontal pockets while removing infected flesh. Even though this sounds painful, it’s not. The laser removes only bacteria and dead tissue, leaving the healthy tissue and bone intact.

The next step in LANAP therapy is plaque and tartar removal with an ultrasonic scaler. This is an important step because the leftover debris can quickly make the periodontal disease active again. Successfully removing all the debris is also important for the next step of LANAP.

After the initial laser treatment and plaque removal from the roots of the teeth, the LANAP laser is used once again, but this time to stimulate the soft tissue and roots. By using the laser for a second time, the blood becomes sticky and forms a clot around the teeth, keeping everything clean and bacteria-free. Because of this, the healing process is much quicker compared to traditional gum surgery.

Recommended Diet After LANAP Surgery

As mentioned above, the healing process after LANAP therapy is much faster compared to traditional surgery used for treating periodontal disease. A soft-food diet is recommended though until your gums are fully healed which includes avoiding nuts, raw vegetables, gum, seeds, spicy food, and meat.

The mentioned foods should be avoided for about a week, especially if the LANAP was done on all your teeth. If only part of your jaw was treated, you could eat regularly after a few days, but should chew only with the teeth on the opposite side of where you had surgery, just in case.

Is Everyone a Good Candidate for This Type of Procedure?

Unfortunately, no. People with severe cases of periodontal disease and bone loss won’t have the same effects as people who reached out to their dentist as soon as they noticed the first symptoms.

To make sure you’re a good candidate for the procedure, you should consult a certified professional at a trustworthy dentist office such as Gables Sedation who will tell you whether you qualify or not.

Keeping Your Teeth and Gums Healthy

Keeping teeth and gums healthy will save you a lot of time and money. It’s normal for teeth to deteriorate over time, which is why it’s important to visit your dentist every 6 months.

When it comes to brushing your teeth, a lot of people don’t realize just how important the toothbrush is. Investing in a soft, quality toothbrush will help you maintain healthy teeth as well as gums for a long time. Flossing should also be an important part of your oral hygiene routine because most toothbrushes can’t reach all the nooks and crannies floss can.

Having a healthy, mixed diet will also help keep your teeth white and healthy. Many people don’t think having a healthy diet is important for oral health but it plays a very important role, especially if you reduce intake of unnecessary sugars.

Have you heard about the LANAP procedure before? Did you find the information about it useful? If you liked this article and found it informative, do us a favor and share it with your friends and family via social media!