Editor's note: The following is a Q&A with Dr. Yooson Kim of Morgantown Family Dentistry in Elverson, PA.
DrBicuspid: Pain and anxiety can be barriers to patients receiving adequate dental care. How do clinicians address these challenges?
Dr. Kim: Once I started asking patients specifically what part of the dental experience bothered them, I realized pain and anxiety aren’t the same thing, and it’s not just about removing the needle from the equation.
I found that it’s often more than the injection itself. Many patients dislike the lingering numbness; not feeling their lip or tongue for hours; and the inconvenience of eating, drinking, or speaking afterward.
Addressing these challenges starts with giving patients as normal a day as possible after treatment. When patients know they can often return to work, school, or their daily routine without hours of numbness or discomfort, dentistry becomes much less intimidating. That shift changes how they feel before they even sit in the chair.
Patients have different pain thresholds and often perceive pain differently. How do dental lasers create a more comfortable treatment experience across a wide range of patients?
Dr. Yooson Kim.
Patients of all ages, undergoing a wide variety of procedures, consistently report the same thing: significantly less discomfort during treatment, less soreness afterward, reduced healing time due to less tissue trauma, and, for many procedures, little to no need for local anesthesia.
The unique wavelength of the laser we use, Solea, creates an anesthetic effect while precisely preparing tissue. Unlike a traditional drill, which generates friction, vibration, pressure, and heat, Solea vaporizes tissue using concentrated laser energy rather than mechanical force, greatly minimizing collateral tissue damage.
Every patient experiences pain differently, but by eliminating many of the factors that commonly trigger discomfort, Solea helps create a consistently more comfortable treatment experience across a broad range of patients.
What are patients' responses in terms of dental lasers being both safe and effective while also being less painful?
The biggest surprise isn’t that patients tell me the procedure was comfortable and fast. It’s what they say afterward.
Many tell me, “If I knew dentistry could be like this, I wouldn’t have waited so long.” Or, “This was so easy. I don’t know why I was so nervous about it.” That reflects a complete shift in how they view dentistry moving forward.
Initially, many patients are skeptical because they’ve spent their entire lives associating dental treatment with needles, drilling, vibration and prolonged numbness. Once they experience a procedure with a dental laser like Solea, that perception often changes dramatically.
I also find that patients become more accepting of recommended treatment because fear and pain are no longer barriers. They begin focusing on solving the dental problem rather than worrying about the procedure itself.
Many patients are surprised to learn that certain procedures can be performed without a drill or local anesthesia. Can you explain how dental laser technology enables this?
The precision of Solea allows me to perform many cavity preparations and soft-tissue procedures with little or no need for local anesthesia and minimal to no bleeding of soft tissue.
Traditional drills and scalpels rely on mechanical force. Solea allows me to precisely control both speed and depth through a variable-speed foot pedal while removing tissue with laser energy rather than pressure and mechanical force. That translates into a lighter, more targeted approach with significantly less trauma to surrounding tissues while allowing for precise, conservative treatment.
When we perform appropriate procedures without local anesthesia, patients experience less postoperative discomfort and may return immediately to work, school, or their normal daily activities. That alone increases treatment acceptance.
We’ve also seen more anxious patients move forward with treatment because they anticipate less discomfort and shorter appointments. Patients frequently share their positive experiences with family and friends, creating meaningful word-of-mouth referrals that contribute to both patient retention and new patient growth.
From an operational standpoint, Solea also improves efficiency. Eliminating anesthesia when appropriate shortens appointments, allowing us to maximize chair time and increase productivity. Completing treatment in one visit rather than multiple appointments opens future scheduling capacity for additional patient care. We also spend less time on postoperative bite adjustments and sensitivity visits because patients leave without prolonged numbness.
Not every procedure or every patient is a candidate for treatment without anesthesia, but this technology has enabled us to improve clinical outcomes and patient experiences across the board.
How has Solea fundamentally changed how you approach certain procedures and minimizing pain? How do you set expectations with patients?
From a clinician’s perspective, I spend less time managing fear and anxiety and more time delivering quality care. Sometimes we underestimate how much emotional energy is spent helping patients overcome their fear before treatment even begins.
My conversations have shifted away from emotionally preparing patients for treatment and toward reassurance. Instead of discussing needles and numbness, I now educate patients about their oral health and the treatment itself. When fear is reduced, patients are better able to participate in decisions about their care.
I also set realistic expectations. Rather than promising that patients won’t feel anything, I explain that most patients experience significantly less discomfort during treatment and a much easier recovery than they expect. They’re often pleasantly surprised by how quickly they can return to their normal activities afterward.
Beyond reducing discomfort during treatment, how do dental lasers influence recovery, healing, and returning to normal activities?
Because Solea precisely vaporizes tissue with minimal collateral trauma, patients typically experience less swelling, less postoperative discomfort, and faster healing than they expect.
For many patients, the appointment itself was never the whole story. What they remembered was the rest of the day -- being numb for hours, struggling to eat, or feeling sore and sensitive afterward.
Reducing that recovery period is just as important as making the procedure itself more comfortable. Being able to leave the office and continue with normal daily life has become one of the benefits patients appreciate most. For many, it represents a complete paradigm shift in how they experience dentistry.
Are there specific procedures where you’ve found dental lasers deliver the greatest benefits from a pain management perspective?
Initially, I expected the greatest difference to be in cavity preparations, but I’ve found the benefits to be just as significant during soft-tissue procedures such as crown lengthening, soft-tissue management for restorative dentistry, frenectomies and gingivectomies.
One experience that stands out involved a patient who had postponed treatment for years because of significant dental anxiety stemming from previous dental experiences. After completing a procedure with Solea, the patient looked at me and said, “That’s it?” That single positive experience completely changed how they viewed dentistry and gave them the confidence to complete the rest of their treatment plan.
Those moments reinforce that changing a patient’s experience can change their willingness to seek care in the future.
For dentists considering adding a dental laser like Solea to their practice, what clinical or patient-care benefits have been the most meaningful?
Dentistry has traditionally focused on the clinical success of a procedure, and each patient defines success differently. They remember how they felt during treatment, how quickly they recovered, whether they were able to return to their normal lives, and how comfortable the overall experience was.
Solea has also made appointments more efficient because many appropriate procedures can be completed without stopping for anesthesia or waiting for profound numbness.
Looking ahead, how do you see Solea continuing to shape the future of pain management and minimally invasive dentistry?
I believe the future of dentistry isn’t simply about making procedures less painful. It’s about making dental care so comfortable and predictable that fear is no longer the reason patients delay treatment or become inconsistent with their care.
It’s not just about replacing a drill with a laser. It’s changing how patients experience dentistry. I could tell countless stories of patients whose perception of dentistry changed after just one experience with a dental laser, not because the experience is more comfortable but because they are able to receive treatment before a small problem becomes a larger one.
As dentists, we spend a tremendous amount of effort restoring damage that could have been prevented if patients had sought care earlier. Technologies that reduce pain, anxiety, and recovery time help remove these barriers to care.
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
