SOLEA ELEVATES
Pediatric Dentistry
- Clinical Videos
- Case Studies
- Clinician Experience
- Resources
- FAQs
PROCEDURES
Set your small patients up for a lifetime of good oral health by helping to raise a generation that’s not afraid of the dentist.
When parents think about the dentist, they think about what it would be like if their child needs a filling. That perception dictates a lot of decisions: which dentist they choose; whether or not they accept a treatment; how long they stay with the practice; and what they say to their friends and family. By eliminating the primary causes of patient anxiety (the needle and the drill), Solea delivers a dental experience pediatric patients and parents prefer.
“With Solea, my patients get to experience anesthesia-free restorative dentistry, which means no shots! Patients are also able to get multiple procedures done within one visit, which means less time missed from school. What’s more, soft tissue procedures heal so much faster, and there’s less post-op discomfort. The best part of using Solea is that the kids leave happy, like nothing happened! Game changer!”
Andrea Gamble, DDS, Pediatric Dentist
Explore The Case Studies
Lingual And Maxillary Frenectomy
The 10-week-old male patient presented with a Class III maxillary lip tie and a Class III tongue tie. He was referred to the practice by a lactation consultant (IBCLC) for inability to achieve a proper latch on the breast. An anesthetic- , blood- and suture-free lingual and maxillary labial frenectomies were performed using Solea.
Pediatric Gingivectomy
A 13-year-old female patient was unhappy with the appearance of her smile after orthodontic treatment. The oral evaluation revealed that she had a hypermobile lip and showed too much of her gingiva and maxillary frenum when she smiled. The clinical objective was to remove the excessive gingiva to make her smile more aesthetically pleasing, in addition to a maxillary frenectomy. The whole operation was performed without injectable anesthetic and virtually blood-free with Solea.
Clinical Case Video Library
Explore The Case Studies
Infant Lingual and Maxillary Frenectomies
Case Summary: The patient, a 10-week-old male infant, presented with a Class III maxillary lip tie and a Clas...
Ankylosed Tooth Extraction
Case Summary: 16-year-old male was referred by ortho for comprehensive care and extraction of tooth #T. Patie...
Gingivectomy and Maxillary Frenectomy
Case Summary: A 13-year-old female, who has been a patient of the practice since she was 2 years old, present...
Pediatric Dentists and Patients Love Solea
From cavities to frenectomies, Solea enables dentists to elevate and grow their practices through improved efficiency, patient experience, clinical effectiveness, and procedural expansion.1 Hear from Solea Doctors and Patients about their experience!
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“We're doing a lot more chairside dentistry with Solea and getting a lot more done in single appointments. So not only are we saving the parents the stress of having to go to the hospital and put their kiddo to sleep, but we're also saving them the stress of having to take off work, or having to take the kiddos out of school as often because we're getting more work done in individual appointments.”
Daniel Allen, DMD, MSD
Hendricks Pediatric Dentistry
Brownsburg, IN
“Once I found out that there was an option to not have to give kids an injection, that was what sold me. I didn't need to hear anything else. For me to know that that exists and then to continue doing injections to me felt inhumane. And so once I knew it, that was it. Sold.”
Annette Ogunnowo, DDS
The Tooth Fairy Topeka
Topeka, KS
“My favorite part was talking to her mom afterwards and talking about how great she did because we were so proud of her. And as a fellow parent, you could see her sense of relief from having Carly not have to go be put to sleep, not have to go through all that trauma again, and that we finally had a great, successful appointment with her compared to all the other things that came before that."
Jeffrey Rohde, DDS, MS
Kendall | Rohde and Associates
Santa Barbara, CA
“One of the biggest benefits of using Solea is that sedation is less necessary. For example, with Solea, a patient who previously might have required deep sedation may only need oral sedation. A patient who would have previously needed oral sedation may only need nitrous. And some patients may not need any sedation at all. Pediatric patients absolutely love the idea that they can receive their treatment without a 'pinch.'”
Laura B. Holena, DDS
Special Care Smiles
Wilkes-Barre, PA
“The effect of the laser is one, kids come out happy, they're not numb, I don't have to worry about them biting their tongue or their lip. She'll come back in a couple of weeks for other work and she'll be happy.”
Lawrence A. Kotlow, DDS
Lawrence A. Kotlow, DDS, PC
Albany, NY
Additional Resources
Use of the Solea laser in pediatric dentistry
Since its intoduction, the Solea All-Tissue Laser has made anesthesia-free treatment possible for a number of dental procedures. In this interview, pediatric dentist Jared Poplin, DMD, discusses his experience using Solea.
This is not a drill: tips to improve patient experience with laser technology
Dr. Jenny Jackson feels that her Solea laser has improved practice efficiency, reduced the need for numbing, and also eliminates many mental triggers for her young patients.
AAPD Policy on the Use of Lasers for Pediatric Dental Patients
Policy on the Use of Lasers for Pediatric Dental Patients
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Frequently Asked Questions About Solea for Pediatric Dentistry
Can Solea be used to treat cavities in children without anesthetic injections?
Yes. The 9.3-micron wavelength is highly absorbed in enamel and dentin, producing an analgesic effect that reliably eliminates the need for injected local anesthetic in the large majority of pediatric cavity preparations. Children leave the appointment without numbness and can go directly back to school. In a prospective clinical study, 93% of 233 procedures were completed anesthesia-free across patients of all ages.
Read >> Patient and Clinician Experiences When Using a CO2 Laser for Cavity Preparations Clinical Study
Applied Sciences
How does Solea reduce the need for sedation in pediatric dental patients?
By eliminating the needle and drill — the two primary sources of pediatric dental anxiety — Solea significantly reduces the threshold for patient cooperation. Dentists report that patients who previously required deep sedation may only need nitrous oxide, patients who required oral sedation may only need light nitrous, and many patients require no sedation at all. This reduces clinical risk and cost burden for families while opening in-office treatment to children who would otherwise require hospital-based general anesthesia.
Can Solea be used for pediatric pulpotomies and stainless steel crowns?
Yes. Board-certified pediatric dentists have developed and teach specific Solea protocols for pulpotomies, stainless steel crowns, and indirect pulp therapy in primary teeth. The laser’s analgesic effect allows for caries removal and pulp management without local anesthetic in many cases. Stainless steel crowns have been completed in under five minutes without anesthetic using Solea, and the bactericidal effect of the laser supports disinfection of the cavity and exposed pulp tissue.
Is Solea safe for use in very young pediatric patients, including toddlers?
Solea is used regularly on infant patients for frenectomies and on very young children for primary tooth caries. The laser’s high absorption in tooth structure means energy is not transmitted to the pulp at therapeutic settings. Clinical and histopathologic research confirmed a complete absence of adverse pulpal effects following 9.3-micron laser irradiation at ablative parameters.
Read >> 9.3µm Laser: Pulpal Safety during Ablation of Tooth Occlusal Surfaces
Clinical Study
Can Solea perform pediatric soft tissue procedures like frenectomies and gingivectomies?
Absolutely. Solea enables blood-free, suture-free frenectomies and gingivectomies on children of all ages — including infants — typically without injectable anesthetic. In this case study, a 10-week-old infant received a lingual and maxillary frenectomy using Solea with no anesthesia, no bleeding, and no sutures.
Read >> Infant Lingual and Maxillary Frenectomies — 10-week-old infant: anesthetic-free, blood-free, suture-free lingual and labial frenectomies
Case Study
Does Solea reduce missed appointments and treatment refusals in pediatric patients?
When parents know their child will not receive an injection and will not experience the drill, appointment anxiety is greatly reduced, if not eliminated. Children who previously refused treatment become willing patients, and same-day treatment of discovered caries becomes routine. Because there is often no anesthetic wait, more procedures can be completed in a single visit.
Read >> Ankylosed Tooth Extraction
Case Study
How does offering Solea change the practice’s reputation and new patient growth?
Parents talk. When a child’s dental appointment is quick, calm, and needle-free, parents become passionate advocates for the practice. Solea pediatric practices report that word-of-mouth referrals from parents are among their strongest growth drivers.