clinician spotlight

The Personal and Professional Benefit of Dental Lasers

By Kajal Joshi, DMD

clinician spotlight

The Personal and Professional Benefit of Dental Lasers

By Kajal Joshi, DMD

As both a mother and a dentist, I am lucky enough to merge my passions in my pediatric dentistry practice. I love getting to go to work every day to help families in my community by treating every patient with as much care as I would want for my own child. Because many children experience fear or anxiety when going to the dentist, everyone at my practice strives to make the process as easy and as enjoyable as possible for our patients. This commitment to providing an enjoyable dental experience is part of what lead me to purchase two BIOLASE lasers, the Waterlase and Epic X lasers.

Waterlase Dentist - Dr. Kajal Joshi

The other driving force behind purchasing the lasers was a personal experience of mine. Soon after giving birth to my son, I learned that he was tongue-tied. Tongue-tie is a condition present at birth that restricts the tongue’s range of motion. It often affects the baby’s ability to latch, and therefore breastfeed. With this condition, we opted to have his frenectomy treatment with a BIOLASE Epic X dental laser. I was astounded by the results. Within a few minutes, everything was completed! After this experience, I knew I wanted to bring lasers into my own practice. I am now able to perform more minimally invasive and virtually pain-free procedures, such as restorations, gingivectomies, and frenectomies.

After adopting the BIOLASE lasers just three months ago, I have already seen a positive impact on my practice. The lasers have helped make dental procedures easier and less nerve-wracking for both my patients and their parents. Even cavity treatments have become a breeze. The limited need for local anesthetic or laughing gas makes the procedure much easier for everyone involved. As an added bonus, there is little to no need for the standard anesthesia or numbing treatment, so the children don’t become concerned over a “funny feeling” in their lip, cheek or tongue hours afterward.

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"After adopting the Waterlase and Epic X lasers just three months ago, I have already seen a positive impact on my practice's ROI and patient satisfaction."

One of my favorite experiences with the laser was when we had a teenage patient come in with post-orthodontic decay on his anterior teeth. At first, he was understandably nervous, but shortly after I began the treatment with the laser he saw how easy the procedure was. Not only did we complete all four restorations in just one visit, but there was no need to use any local anesthetic. He was so happy that his mom mentioned that he “wasn’t even this happy getting his braces off!”

Another benefit of the laser is the lack of equipment vibrations. We have a lot of patients who either have special needs or sensory issues. The standard equipment can often be overwhelming for these patients and cause sensory overload. Being able to use equipment that is gentle allows us to perform dental procedures without concern over these sensitivities and vastly improves patient comfort.

Implementing dental laser technology into my practice has been very rewarding. When patients first hear that we will be using a laser, they get nervous, but once the procedure begins they visibly relax. I have even had patients giggle during the procedure because they are so surprised by how easy it is. The laser only feels like water on their teeth, which is a familiar one, allowing them to quickly feel comfortable. Seeing the increase in patient comfort has been immensely satisfying, and sets both our patients and their parents at ease.

In the future, I would love to see the lasers make an impact on resin infiltration in addition to the treatment of hypoplastic teeth. In the meantime, I will focus on how they have impacted my practice, by not only increasing the number of procedures I can perform but simplifying procedures and making my patient’s experience quicker and easier. I would recommend adopting BIOLASE dental lasers to any practicing dentist who wants to improve their patient experience, recovery times and overall quality of care. Beyond that, I would recommend finding a Waterlase Dentist to any mother who wants the easiest and most enjoyable dental experience for her child.

Dr. Kajal Joshi

About Dr. Kajal Joshi

After practicing dentistry in the northeast, I moved to the Chicagoland area two years ago to be with my husband, Ajay Joshi. I am very enthusiastic to call the Glen Ellyn area my new home, and I am devoted to caring for the community. With my background, I am very involved in public health education and outreach. I enjoy volunteering at events, such as Special Smiles, and around the community.

When I am not attending continuing education courses, I enjoy a diverse genre of music and dancing, cooking ethnic cuisines, and traveling the world to experience other cultures. I am very interested in the arts; I like to take painting classes, cross-stitch and get creative with DIY projects. I am a big movie buff, especially Disney movies! I enjoy swimming, biking, and going for long walks. However, when I find a good book, I usually am not able to put it down as I enjoy reading – mostly fiction

To learn more about Dr. Joshi and her practice, visit www.dpdsmiles.com or follow them on Instagram @dpdsmiles.