I just did some fillings in the chewing-surface grooves of three molars on a fourteen-year-old. I filled them with the tooth-colored plastic filling material- I almost never use the silver-mercury stuff anymore. I didn’t need to give the patient a shot; didn’t need to use the drill. I used the Waterlase MD, a laser, which pretty much selectively removes bad tooth structure, leaving more healthy tooth structure and making for a smaller hole in the tooth. Another advantage of using the laser over the drill is that drilling on any crystalline structure, like tooth enamel, sets up micro-fractures, which predispose the tooth to crack or break in the future, necessitating a crown or a root canal, or, in the worst case scenario, an extraction.

At this rate, few if any people will be afraid to go to the dentist.

Another great service thanks to modern technology.