1. What is Micro-dentistry?
So can Micro-dentistry using dental lasers (also known as Minimally Invasive Dentistry – MID for
short) help? Yes, it can with a proviso – that people make regular visits to the dental office every 6 to
12 months. Many people are not aware that dental decay does not cause pain until the final stages. Just
like the advice given for cancer early detection is the best protection so it is for dental decay.
Micro-dentistry treats decay early (when it is very tiny) before it becomes painful and causes major
tooth damage resulting in very tiny dental fillings. This is low-cost cosmetic dentistry!
My job as a dentist is to give you an oral assessment (digital x-rays, laser diagnostics and physical oral
examination) to determine whether microdentistry or traditional dentistry will be required for your oral
health. Traditional (macro) dentistry means those high pitched whining drills and face numbing
anaesthetic. Although many people cannot avoid traditional dentistry, most can benefit from
microdentistry procedures that make your dental experience more pleasurable than you may have ever
experienced in the past.
Micro-dentistry is the practice of early detection and early treatment with minimally invasive
revolutionary methods.
You see them everywhere else. In movies like Star Wars, James Bond, and in the surgery – corrective
eye surgery and for treating skin disorders to name a couple. The reason they are used is that they are
pinpoint accurate and offer the best healing. And now they are in dentistry. To get corrective eye
surgery would you go to an eye surgeon who will cut with a scalpel blade or who will treat with a
laser?
What is it? Laser stands for light amplification and it enables us to focus light energy to use as a tool
for cutting. Because we can focus light to any size we can ensure unparallel accuracy.
The Kavo Diagnodent (TM) is a hand held low power laser.
It is used to pick up hidden decay. This hides deep in the enclosed fissures in your tooth. The
Diagnodent shines in the tooth and illuminates it. It gets a reflection of the light and gives the dentist a
reading between 1 and 100. The dentist can then advise you on how bad the decay is in your tooth and
what to do about it. It reads a number of things in your tooth. Two important parameters it reads are
amount of tooth destruction, and amount the activity of the bacteria, which causes the decay. It is
extremely accurate. Trials have shown it to be 99% accurate. In the same trials the traditional way of
picking up decay on your tooth by picking at your teeth with the probe (that instrument the dentists
love to use to poke and prod your tooth!) is about 25% accurate. So you might as well toss a coin
because this will give you a 50% chance of getting it right!
Laser diagnostic equipment enables us to find cavities and even potential cavities, that traditional
manual dental probes and X-rays would often miss. This means early treatment and repair before the
pain sets in and before major repair work would be required. Regular dental visits involving our
diagnostic laser equipment will ensure healthier teeth and in many cases – pain free fillings! You will
save time, money AND pain! Everyone benefits from early detection oral assessments. This technology
has enabled me to become a “mercury amalgam free” dentist.
Please note: Microdentistry cannot be used to remove old amalgam, porcelain or metal fillings.
Traditional macro dentistry applies in these cases. And it is important that safe amalgam removal and
restoration procedures are provided.
Water laser offers a gentle alternative to a wide variety of dental treatments. Fillings last longer and

2. tooth structure is preserved, extending the life of your teeth. Most of all it is a generally pain free
treatment. Water laser uses a Hydrokinetic (TM) process to energise water which then gently and
precisely washes away decay in both tooth enamel and gum tissue. Fast, efficient, no drilling and
sometimes no more numbing injections!
The Biolase (TM) Water Laser is a high power laser used for all aspects of dental surgery. It is a laser
that utilises water to perform cutting procedures. What happens is laser energy is passed through a mist
of water spray. As the water particles are energised by the laser energy they shoot forward and hit the
target tissue. Since the majority of mouth tissue cells are made up of water they make a perfect target.
The water particles hit the cells and evaporate the cells water contents and the cells collapse. Sounds
very gentle eh? It is! Consider the alternative. Picture in your mind what a scalpel blade or a drill will
do to the same cells- pure destruction!
So what can this wonderful tool be used for? “It can be used in every aspect of dentistry”. We can now
do fillings without much fuss. There is no vibration or heat caused in the tooth. This is a major
advantage over the drill. When a drill hits a tooth it causes fracture lines on entry point through the
enamel. Over times these fracture lines propagate (like cracks in your windshield) and cause the tooth
or fillings to break – sound familiar? Also the high speed drill causes heat. This coupled with the
vibration causes a lot of the pain you feel when going to the dentist. The laser has none of this! That is
why a lot of dental fillings can now be prepared without the need for Local Anaesthetic!
All soft tissues (surgical) procedures can be carried out. The greatest advantage is the faster healing
time after the procedures. A lot of the time there is no pain or even trace of trauma after surgical
procedures. A good example is gum re-contouring. Traditionally a scalpel blade and stiches are used.
You have the stiches in for 1 week and have to allow for complete healing in about 3 weeks. The laser
requires no stiches and in some cases healing is on the day!
Cold sore and ulcers can now be ‘lased’ closed. This has immediate relief and also gives a faster
healing time. The dental water laser treatment can help with gum disease by cleaning the infection
under the gum’s.
Air abrasion technology uses compressed air to remove decay with a high speed stream of microscopic
particles. Like the water laser treatment, this process does not usually require an unaesthetic. Micro
dentistry does not weaken the structure of the tooth as can often occur with traditional (macro) drilling,
because less of the tooth needs to be removed. The dentist wears magnifying glasses to work at the
micro levels.
What about gum disease and microdentistry?
Four out of five adults have gum disease. Not only does this initially result in bleeding gums and bad
breath but eventually will result in bone deterioration and loss of teeth. Now with water laser treatment
we can at last treat gum disease effectively and with regular treatment, bone regeneration can
sometimes result.
Microdentristry is great for children
The best investment you can make in your children and young people’s oral health is to ensure
microdentistry is part of their regular checkups. Many people benefit from microdentistry. Plus if you
combine microdentistry with decay prevention procedures you can be confident about your oral health.
You no longer have to fear going to the dentist.