Many Southwest Florida-area dental patients struggling with periodontal disease have heard that laser gum treatment can effectively treat the condition and prevent further damage to gum tissue and teeth. However, with concerns that this high-tech treatment may be cost-prohibitive, some patients are leery of asking their dentists whether laser gum therapy is a viable solution for their periodontal disease. Among the follow-up questions posed by those patients who do ask their dentists about the LANAP® protocol laser gum surgery is whether the treatment is “worth it?”

Patients with moderate to severe periodontal disease tend to dread the discomfort and pain associated with traditional treatment, whether scaling and root planing or more invasive procedures like gingival flap surgery and gum grafting. Such treatments are usually critical for halting the progression of gum disease to prevent further damage and potential tooth loss. However, there is another periodontal treatment you can turn to that effectively treats the underlying causes of the disease and promotes the regeneration of damaged tissues.

If one of your teeth is causing chronic pain or the surrounding gum tissue seems inflamed, your dentist might recommend addressing the problem with a root canal. And while you may have heard mention of the dental term, many people don’t know exactly what root canal therapy is. While perhaps not as confounding as dental treatment terms like apicoectomy and curettage, the words “root” and “canal” raise more questions than answers for those unfamiliar with the treatment. With a bit of thought, you might determine that “root” pertains to the unseen part of the tooth that anchors it to the jawbone, but what is the “canal,” and what does the treatment entail with either of them?