Caring For Your Laser Gum Therapy
Today we used a dental laser to treat the gum disease below your gum line, removing diseased tissue and bacteria while helping the healthy gum reattach to the tooth. Laser therapy is gentle, and a little care over the next week helps your gums heal and tighten. Here is how.
The First Few Days
- Mild soreness or tenderness is normal and settles within a few days.
- You may notice a different color at the gum line as it heals. This is normal.
- Sensitivity to hot or cold can occur and lessens over time.
Keeping It Clean
- Do not aggressively brush the treated gums for the first few days. Be gentle there.
- Warm salt water rinses a few times a day keep it clean while it heals.
- Avoid poking the area with your tongue, a toothpick, or floss until it settles.
Eating & Comfort
- Stay ahead of soreness with over-the-counter pain relief on schedule.
- Soft, cool foods the first day or two, easing back to normal.
- Avoid very hot, spicy, or crunchy foods that can irritate healing gums.
- For tender gums, vitamin E can soothe and help healing. Take it over the counter, or break a gel capsule and rub it on the gums. You can also ask us for StellaLife gel.
Call Us If
- Bleeding that is heavy or does not slow after a couple of days.
- Pain or swelling that worsens instead of settling, or a fever.
- A bad taste or odor that does not clear with rinsing.
- Anything that concerns you about how it is healing.
How To Keep Your Gums Healthy
Laser therapy gave your gums a strong start toward reattaching and tightening. Daily care at home and staying on your maintenance schedule are what keep the disease from coming back.
- Brush the gum line gently twice a day and floss daily once the area has settled.
- Keep your periodontal maintenance visits, usually every 3 months, so we stay ahead of the bacteria.
- Do not skip them. Skipping visits lets the bacteria rebuild and the gums slip backward.
Care for them gently and keep your visits, and your gums keep getting healthier!
Questions about your laser therapy or your recovery? Call the office anytime. We are here for you!
