The role of laser technology has been increasing in importance in the field of dentistry, ever since its introduction in the field, in 1961. Laser detectors are helpful in picking up fluorescence. You may ask the relevance of this fact in relation to dentistry. The fact is, bacterial decay is characterized by fluorescence, which in other words, is simply a glowing light. Locating fluorescence using laser detectors are helpful in picking up various dental infections, with absolute accuracy. To help yourself better understand the role of laser technology in dental diagnosis, read the following sections of this article.

Accurate Caries Detection:

Laser technology is extremely efficient in identifying caries (tooth decay). These decays are caused by the presence of bacteria, that give off the fluoresce, which in turn is picked up by the laser detectors. Generally, laser detectors are used to detect tooth decay when visual inspection alone is insufficient for the purpose. Dr. Joel M. White, a professor at the UCSF School of Dentistry, says, “They (Laser detectors) are an excellent complement to oral examinations aiding in identification of caries (tooth decay) that might be missed by visual inspection alone. They also allow teeth to be monitored from one visit to the next, to determine if decay is “arrested” or “progressive” and therefore at what point treatment is truly needed.” Thus, not only does laser technology help in identifying caries, it is also helpful in identifying the state of it.

Accurate Detection of Calculus:

Calculus, or most commonly known as “tartar”, is a form of calcified bacterial plaque. These are hard substances and removing them requires gum therapy, since they form beneath the gums. Due to their formation under the surface, even locating them could be extremely difficult, and conventional methods detection would require a lot of tissue removal. Laser detectors however, are able to accurately localize the calculus, and hence, helps in its diagnosis before the situation can get worse.

Early Detection of Oral Cancer  

In recent times, the laser technology has undergone certain developments. One of them is the development of lasers that fluoresce oral soft tissues. In this way, laser technology has made a breakthrough in detecting oral cancer at early stages. This is possible because with the help of these lasers, a dentist is able to detect cancer cells and even abnormal tissues, by finding out whether they glow or not. As a result, today, not only does laser technology help in cancer detection at an early stage, but also aids in identifying tissues in their pre-cancerous stages. It is also helpful in removing worn out tissues. These early and accurate diagnostic properties in the field of dentistry, would have been impossible without the advent of laser technology in the field.

Did you come across the word, “accurate” a lot in this article? Well, that is because laser technologies have an edge over conventional diagnosis in terms of accurately locating an infection. Laser beams are incredibly thin, and the pin-point location in the mouth that fluoresces, is the exact pin-point location where the infection resides! This is why the role of laser technology is vital in dentistry.

Your lifestyle dictates a lot for your health. The same applies for your oral health too. Oral care depends largely on some good oral hygiene habits that you need to inculcate in your daily routine in order to achieve the best results. These habits are a part of your lifestyle. An unscrupulous lifestyle on the other hand, hampers your dental as well as oral health. The most fatal habits for hampering your oral health are: smoking, chewing tobacco or simply incessant grinding of your teeth.

Some statistical evidence of how tobacco affects your oral health goes like:

• • • 90 percent of the people who suffer from mouth cancer, throat cancer and ailments of the like have been habituated to tobacco consumption for some considerable amount of time.
    • Smokers as compared to non-smokers, are six times more likely to develop such cancers.
    • It has been found that about 37 percent of the smokers continue smoking even after they are done with their cancer treatment. These individuals are prone to developing a second cancer, such as that of the throat and the larynx. However, the probability of developing a second cancer is still low. Only abut 6 percent have been found to be the victims.

Now let us concentrate on how your day-to-day activities affect your overall oral health.

The Use of Certain Medications

Certain drugs like some heart medicines, oral contraceptives, anti-depressants, might affect your oral health. In case you are faced with oral problems and you visit your dental care provider, inform him or her about the same as it is important for your dentist to know on what medications you have been put on by other doctors.

Teeth Grinding or Clenching

Often, teeth grinding is unconscious. Many people are in the habit of clenching their teeth at night while at sleep. Continual grinding of the teeth against each other puts unnecessary pressure on the surrounding gum tissues as well as the jaw bones. This might culminate into an acute jaw pain or even TMJ (Temporomandibular jaw ) issues.

Stress or Anxiety

An ample number of health complications are related to stress. It may be the causal factor for conditions like hypertension, headaches or even cancer. This factor also stands responsible for periodontal diseases. Moreover, anxiety makes it difficult for the body to fight any infection. Therefore, even a periodontal disease does not seem to heal, when you are under some sort of mental tension.

Lack of Proper Nutrition and Obesity

Nutrients are essential for fighting infection. Lack of proper diet therefore, makes the healing of a periodontal disease difficult. Research also reveals that obesity increases the risk of periodontal disease.

Lack of Sleep

A deficiency of sufficient amount of sleep at night (of about 6 hours per day at least) is responsible for impairing the body’s immune system that further leads to the progression of diseases like a periodontal disease.

However the worst habit to affect oral health among all these is smoking and/or tobacco chewing. Alcohol consumption is also an equally effective bane for your mouth health. Incorporating the noble habits of brushing twice and also flossing daily, can alone prevent you from 95 % oral diseases.

In one of the latest studies, it was found that smoking and less than six hours of sleep at night were the two most significantly contributing lifestyle factors that were responsible for worsening periodontal health. Also, research data showed that 38.5 percent of periodontal disease progression was due to the prevalence of excessive smoking.