The LaserSmile™ professional whitening system. / The LaserSmileT diode laser.
The LaserSmile™ system is manufactured by Biolase Technology, Inc. In dental circles this company is probably best known for manufacturing the Waterlase® dental laser. Their whitening system, however, utilizes their LaserSmileT diode laser.
What type of whitener is used?
The LaserSmile™ system uses a hydrogen peroxide-based bleaching gel. This whitener comes prepackaged and ready for use.
It has a 37% hydrogen peroxide concentration (which is fairly high compared to other systems we discuss) and a pH of around 7 (which is what you want). (More about whiteners...)
What kind of laser is used?
The LaserSmile™ system utilizes Biolase's LaserSmileT diode laser.
As you would expect for a laser, the light output of this unit is very precise. Its emissions lie in the 798 to 815nm range, which is part of the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The fact that this specific laser is required for LaserSmile™ treatments implies that Biolase believes that light having this specific wavelength "photo-activates" their whitener, and therefore increases its effectiveness. (This type of claim about light-activation of bleaching gels is considered somewhat controversial by some, including us.)
Since the output of the LaserSmileT laser does lie in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, there could be concerns that a tooth-heating effect might be produced during treatment.
As it turns out, however, during the whitening process this effect is minimal because the laser light is only exposed to a few teeth at a time. And even then only briefly (about 15 seconds). During the entire whitening process (about 24 minutes) it is likely that each tooth will only receive about 2 to 4 minutes of exposure to the laser's output.
Just out of curiosity and for your own information, your dentist probably paid in excess of $20,000 for their LaserSmile™ laser. This laser does, however, have other dental applications so your dentist can use it for other procedures too, not just teeth whitening.
How long does treatment take?
Biolase's promotional materials suggest that LaserSmile™ treatments usually take, from start to finish, less than an hour.
Each bleaching session is divided into two individual applications of the whitener, with the duration of the first application being 16 minutes and the second 8 minutes.
This means that the cumulative exposure of the patient's teeth to the bleaching agent is 24 minutes. Pre-treatment preparations and post-treatment wrap-up activities round the total treatment time up to about an hour, or slightly less.
Are at-home follow-up treatments recommended?
Continuation of bleaching treatments at home, after the in-office session has been completed, is an option left up to the discretion of the dentist and the patient. It is not a formal part of the LaserSmile™ system's protocol.
The whitening procedure.
The process that a dentist follows when performing LaserSmile™ treatments is basically the same as that utilized with other professional teeth whitening systems. Although, in a fashion different from all of the other products that we discuss, the LaserSmile™ system employs the use of an actual laser as the bleaching light.
