Lunch @UCSF with Peter Rechmann – Laser dentistry: the end of “drill and fill”?

Lunch @UCSF with Peter Rechmann – Laser dentistry: the end of “drill and fill”?

Despite great strides in prevention of dental caries (“cavities”), much of dentistry still consists of removing damaged regions of teeth with mechanical drills and restoring their function using various filling materials, usually with significant anesthesia. But Peter Rechmann is conducting clinical studies of technologies that could usher in a new era of dentistry based on laser treatments of the teeth.

Like conventional drills, lasers can remove caries, but remarkably, at certain wavelengths, they can also strengthen teeth, physically remodeling tooth enamel into a protective layer that is stronger and more durable than natural enamel. Moreover, at certain frequencies, laser pulses appear to interact with the nervous system in a manner that blocks pain signals.

Rechmann envisions an era when lasers will not only provide painless and effective treatments for caries, but will also be used to prevent caries entirely by allowing dentists to create superior tooth enamel for their patients.

At this lunch you’ll learn about these advancements in laser dentistry as well as other light-based tools for dental diagnosis.

#laserdentistry

Registration is required.