Monday, March 6, 2017
I have been a general practitioner in Minnesota for 38 years. In my practice, lasers play an important role in delivering the best patient experience possible. Initially, I was only able to perform blood-free soft tissue procedures with anesthetics using a CO2 10.6 micron dental laser. Still, my patients benefited from the advantages the laser provided with minimal trauma and faster healing. But I always knew if I could extend this to my hard and osseous tissue procedures and be able to do all my soft tissue treatments anesthesia free, it would have a dramatic impact on my practice and the patient experience.
Over the years I looked into several all-tissue lasers, but couldn’t find a technology that reliably delivered anesthesia-free and blood-free procedures until I came across Solea, Convergent Dental’s CO2 9.3 micron dental laser.
There was a ton of buzz around Solea on dental message boards about the laser’s anesthesia-free and blood-free capabilities, so I had to look into it for myself. The patient experience with Solea and its ability to be easily integrated into my daily practice exceeded all of my expectations. It was also great to see that Solea was by far the fastest dental laser I tested. So not only are my patients having better experiences, I am able to perform more all–tissue procedures.
When I realized this, I knew I had made the right investment. To fully integrate the technology and communicate the benefit for patients, I decided it was important to re-brand my practice, which included changing its name to ‘Laser Dentistry.’
Solea Fits Seamlessly Into the Practice and Improves Clinical Outcomes
There’s nothing more difficult than changing your whole routine to integrate a new technology. With Solea, I never had that problem. I use it every day on most people who walk through my doors. Its unique 9.3 micron wavelength allows me to vaporize hard, soft and osseous tissue without anesthesia and bleeding, which makes my procedures more efficient, precise, conservative and technically excellent. I can say at least 95 percent of my patients use no anesthesia with this laser.
Solea has improved a number of my procedures including crown restorations, class I-VI restorations and deciduous teeth removal. Previously, to perform a crown restoration I had to inject patients with anesthesia, wait for numbness and manage bleeding with packing or another hemostatic agent throughout the procedure. With Solea, I rarely need to use a needle to numb patients. Solea is easy to use because I don’t have to change settings during a procedure. It’s intuitive – I simply press softer on the foot pedal for softer tissue and press harder on the foot pedal for harder tissue.
I use Solea to perform class I-V restorations as an adjacent for full crowns and onlays. It is ideal for those times when decay is subgingival. Solea makes removing the soft tissue simple and virtually blood-free. Placing a bonded flowable composite and having a clear visual of the margins makes for a preferred outcome. With Solea, the results are immediate.
Using Solea instead of traditional tools and methods to remove deciduous teeth also has been a huge game-changer when it comes to the pediatric patient experience in my practice. Previously, I had to administer a topical and local anesthetic to remove a tooth that’s no longer in the bone and next to a permanent tooth that’s erupting. Eliminating anesthesia from this procedure has greatly increased the comfort level for kids, especially those with anxiety and fear around needles. With Solea, restorative procedures take far less time, there are no vibration or drill sounds and kids can leave the chair happy, healthy and without any numbness.
Overall, the best part of having Solea is that it is applicable in almost every procedure. I can use it every day with just about every patient. If you see a procedure that requires a slow- or high-speed drill, you can use the dental laser. The efficiencies created by Solea – combined with a major increase in patient referrals – increased my revenues by $140,000 in the first year alone. Dentistry will never be the same.
Review Synopsis
Product
Solea All-Tissue Dental Laser
The Good
Dentists can use the Solea laser every day to vaporize hard, soft and osseous tissue without anesthesia and bleeding. This not only enhances the patient experience, it also makes procedures more efficient.
The Bad
None
The Bottom Line
The best part about Solea is that you can use it for almost every procedure for just about every patient.