Enhance Patient Experience with Laser Dentistry

Productivity and patient experience

With Solea, you don’t need anesthesia for most restorative, hard-tissue procedures, which saves chair time. You can sit down and get to work immediately and stay chairside with the patient throughout the procedure. And working in multiple quadrants in one sitting frees up valuable time for other appointments.
 
Beyond drill-and-fill restorations, the laser allows you to perform more soft-tissue procedures – such as gingivectomies, frenectomies, fibroma removals, exposures and crown lengthening – in-house. Solea feathers into cuts with speed, precision and less bleeding.
 
Your increased productivity naturally enhances the patient experience. When you can reduce time in the chair, you increase patient convenience and decrease patient anxiety. Patients eagerly tell their friends and family about a remarkable “free-from” experience with Solea – noise-free, needle-free, drill-free, blood-free and suture-free. You’re growing your practice as you maximize your time and effort.
 
Increasing production and enhancing the patient experience aren’t mutually exclusive. As your clinical peers can attest, Solea technology offers a “win-win-win” with more return on investment (ROI), enhanced patient experience and improved clinical outcomes.

According to Jeffrey Rohde, DDS, MS, of Santa Barbara, California, the decision to invest in any technology boils down to four considerations:

• Efficiency
• Increased breadth of procedures
• Improved clinical outcomes
• Patient impact

The ultimate proof of all of these concepts, according to Rohde, is to look at your practice 6 to 12 months after the investment. “If you can say that technology has so altered the way you practice that you could never go back or give it up, then you know it was worth it. Solea is that tool for us, and I know I could never go to work without it,” Rohde said.
 
He reports that he’s reliably eliminated anesthesia from preparations, and at the very least has saved 5 to 10 minutes per patient by jumping in rather than waiting for numbing to take effect. He also can work in multiple quadrants to complete work that would have occupied another appointment in the schedule. Solea has increased the number of cavity preparations in his practice, which in turn has increased practice revenue each year.
 
In terms of patient impact, Rohde has found that patients who were once afraid of a needle or drill no longer fear being treated at his practice.
 
“Many times, I’ve sat next to a patient following a filling using Solea that required zero anesthesia and heard this comment: ‘If you didn’t have this machine, I would not have gotten this done. I’m so afraid of dental visits that I would have waited until it hurt.’ By saying that, they mean that they are waiting for their pain to increase to the point that it overwhelms their fear. With Solea, that fear is gone,” he said.

Similarly, Timothy Anderson, DDS, now considers same-day anesthesia-free dentistry to be an essential part of his workday. Operating a technology-focused practice in Bismarck, North Dakota, Anderson said he initially invested in Solea because he thought that even if he could do only half of his fillings anesthesia-free, it would be a great opportunity to set his practice apart. Solea has exceeded his expectations and revolutionized the way he works.
 
“I wasn’t prepared for how it would change everything and allow me to do so many more procedures in-office, in less time and on the same day,” Anderson said. “I’m able to do more dentistry in the same amount of time, which is not only better for the patient, but also drives ROI and practice growth.”
 
Anderson also has found that the benefits of his Solea investment aren’t exclusive of other technologies. For example, Solea has allowed him to elevate the quality of CAD/CAM dentistry by giving him more control of both soft and hard tissue.
 
“I consider anesthesia-free dentistry part of same-day dentistry because instead of having to schedule multiple visits for fillings across different quadrants, I can do it all in one visit,” he explained. “I’m able to do more dentistry in the same amount of time, which is not only better for the patient but also drives ROI and practice growth.”
 
As a CEREC trainer, Randal Hadfield, DDS, of Lehi, Utah, also was drawn to Solea for greater efficiencies in CAD/CAM dentistry. He’s found that the laser makes it a lot easier to prep his patients, especially when he’s having trouble hitting certain margins or removing deep decay.
 
“It’s a lot more precise than a round bur, and I can tell by how the laser plumes whether I’m getting good, solid tissue or tooth, or if there is still decay present,” Hadfield said. “I’m getting fewer pulp exposures than before, just by the sheer fact of how much more accurate Solea is at removing decay.”
 
Hadfield also is impressed with Solea’s soft-tissue capabilities. “Cosmetically, I’m able to do really clean and efficient gingivectomies with just a topical anesthetic, and the patient can walk out of the appointment and instantly see what their new smile will look and feel like. Plus, their pain is minimal to nonexistent,” he added.
 
When it comes to the bottom line: Solea can help reduce patient chair time because you can complete routine procedures in less time and frequently in one visit.

A spatter zone study concluded that Solea produces at least 97% less spatter compared to a drill. The laser spatter travels only a few millimeters, compared to drill spatter that can travel as far as 18 inches. According to an in vitro study, Solea spatter contains virtually no live pathogens, increasing patient safety.