# Dentistry without drills?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-without-drills/955140>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 29, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-without-drills/955140 "2021-11-29T15:15:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-without-drills/955140/1 "2021-11-29T15:15:33Z")

</div>

Driving down I-95 in Connecticut yesterday, I saw a large billboard for a dental practice that said, “No drills, no needles”. Now I guess you could replace needles by a general anesthetic, but how is it possible to do dentistry without drilling?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-without-drills/955140/2 "2021-11-29T15:19:08Z")

</div>

> **[Laser Dentistry: Cavities, Cost, Dentistry, Benefits, Risks & More](https://www.healthline.com/health/laser-dentistry)**
>
> Lasers in dentistry have been used for some time to make dental treatments more efficient, cost effective, and comfortable. The FDA approves the use of lasers in the treatment of several dental conditions. Learn about the pros and cons of using...

I also recall a Reader’s Digest article from the early 1960’s which reported that ultrasonic transducers were being developed for tooth extraction. But that technology seems to have been dropped.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-without-drills/955140/3 "2021-11-30T21:25:38Z")

</div>

Lasers. Who would have imagined. Ignorance fought.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-without-drills/955140/4 "2021-11-30T21:37:42Z")

</div>

If only the writers on the movie Goldfinger could have seen the future:

James Bond: “Do you expect me to talk”

Auric Goldfinger: “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to – have a great dental plan.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentistry-without-drills/955140/5 "2023-06-16T14:12:53Z")

</div>

I wondered if anyone else has had LANAP where the dentist burns the layers of gum next to your teeth to deal with periodontal disease. I had it once because the dentist said it would cure the disease. I still had the disease despite afterwards soaking my gums in hydrogen peroxide twice a day. Another dentist recommended i do it one more time twenty years later. Has anyone else had success with it?