Patients visiting the Government Dental College and Research Institute on Victoria Hospital campus can now get access to advanced laser treatment, which is expensive in the private sector.
With the inauguration of a state-of-the-art laser research lab at the college last week, people can now get an array of applications from treatment of simple tooth decay, tooth sensitivity, to more complex applications in regenerative procedures. The lab has been instituted by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) at a total cost of ₹80 lakh.
Kiran Kumar N., professor and Head of the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics in the college, said the laser lab equipment has various hard and soft tissue applications. “Procedures with lasers are safe, less painful, and do not require administration of local anaesthesia,” he said.
Dental procedures
Various dental problems, including caries prevention, cavity preparation, dentinal hypersensitivity, photobiomodulation, wound healing, pain control, and gum surgeries can be done using lasers. It helps both in preventive care as well as diagnostic purposes, he said.
Citing an example, he said a tongue-tie (wherein the floor of the tongue is fused into the floor of the mouth in young children) surgery can be done in 10 minutes. “Otherwise a patient has to be admitted in the hospital as conventionally this surgery has to be done under general anaesthesia,” he said.
“Of the nearly 140 patients seen in our our-patients department everyday, at least 10 will benefit through this laser lab,” Dr. Kumar said.
“This facility can be utilised by students of more than 40 dental colleges in Karnataka affiliated to RGUHS. As hard tissue medical grade laser is a young emerging science, the centre will be beneficial to numerous research activities associated with oral biology. With the latest in laser technology, this research lab offers facilities on a par with international standards at a reasonable cost for patients as well as researchers,” the doctor said.
Advantage during pandemic
“Laser light kills and destroys most of the microorganisms thereby sterilising the oral cavity. Hence, dental procedures which were avoided during the pandemic (due to the use of airrotor that produces aerosol) can be safely performed without fear of cross-infection,” he said, adding that the laser procedures in the government college costs 90% lesser than the price in the private sector.
