Pediatric Laser Dentistry Is Noise-Free, Scalpel-Free, Anxiety-Free
Laser Assisted Oral Surgery Is Fast, Simple, and Safe
Traditional surgery with scissors or a scalpel can injure and bruise the tissue. At Dentistry for Children & Adolescents we use LightScalpel CO2 Laser technology – one of the latest, most precise and innovative types of lasers. CO2 lasers can produce an incision similar to the scalpel without touching the tissue. When the laser light interacts with the tissue, there is no mechanical trauma. It can be used to make incisions as well as to remove unhealthy tissue with enhanced precision and accuracy.
Treatments that We Provide with Laser-Assisted Surgery Include:
- Lip and tongue releases for babies that are having difficulty with nursing
- Lip Frenectomy
- Tongue Frenectomy (Tongue-tie)
- Treatment of soft tissue pain or infection due to molar eruption
- Removal of gum tissue overgrowth caused by medications or poor oral care in orthodontic patients
- Treatment of ulcers (canker sores)
- Exposure of unerupted teeth
- Biopsy of oral lesions
- Treating fissures and cracks on the lips

Comfortable Dental Care With Laser Assisted Dentistry For Babies

What Are the Advantages of Laser Surgery?
- Minimal bleeding – The CO2 laser seals small blood vessels.
- Shorter Surgery Time – Enhanced precision and less bleeding result in reduced treatment time.
- Reduced Risk of Infection – Lasers kill bacteria and provide an added defense against infection.
- Less Swelling and Discomfort – The CO2 laser seals lymphatics; less swelling means less discomfort.
- Less Scarring – CO2 treated areas heal with less wound contraction and thus cause a reduce risk of scarring at the surgical site.
- Faster Recovery – There is minimal discomfort right after surgery.

Lip and Tongue-Ties May Affect Nursing
Does your baby take a long time to nurse? Is your baby falling asleep in the middle of breastfeeding but can’t be put down without waking up to demand the breast again? Is your baby losing weight instead of gaining weight? Are you convinced that your baby does not like breastfeeding? Have you had to switch to bottle feeding because your baby is having difficulties with nursing? If you have answered yes to any of the questions above, chances are that your baby may have an anatomical dysfunction that is interfering with proper feeding.
When a baby has problems to nurse, a tongue-tie or a lip-tie is often to blame. Tongue-ties occur in 3-4 % of infants and may prevent a baby from properly latching to a mother’s nipple or a bottle. If the tongue or the lip can’t support and seal the breast, the baby will not be able to sustain proper feeding.
This flawed function may result in:
- More frequent feedings
- Poor latching
- Gagging
- Coughing
- Aspiration
- Difficulty breathing
- Reflux and/or frequent vomiting
- Gassy, colicky baby due to air swallowing during feeding
- Sleep deprivation
- Poor growth pattern
- Difficulty gaining weight
- Breast pain and cracked, sore or flattened nipples
- Reduced milk supply
The decision to treat a tie can only be achieved with an assessment process that includes an evaluation of the medical history, feeding history, symptoms and physical examination of the baby as well as an evaluation of the mother’s comfort. At our office, Dr. Santos-Cordero has been helping babies thrive at nursing by releasing lip and tongue-ties with a simple laser assisted oral surgery. If you suspect your baby’s nursing problems might be related to a tight lip-tie or tongue-tie, call our office for a complimentary evaluation.
Positive Outcome With Tongue Tie Treatment - Pediatric Dentist - Sarasota, FL

So I’m a first-time mother and this is Sedone and when she was born she would not latch on to me and I thought there was something wrong with me. I fought and fought with her trying to get her to latch because I wanted to be a breastfeeding mama to my little girl and unfortunately it wasn’t working. So she would get really really fussy so when you know babies are born they lose a little bit and she was born at six pounds but then went down to five-eight when she left SMH upon discharge but then shortly after she went down to five-six and that was when we definitely knew something needed to be done. So we did see Dr. Santos like I said the the procedure took place after we had seen her that same very day and within two weeks she’s gained a full pound and I heard a little bit about having tongue-tied and the lip being tight and I was told that that’s most likely the problem so a lactation consultant came over to my house and suggested that she be looked at and showed me the issues that were in Sedone’s mouth which were both of the the lip and the tongue. I was a little skeptical about going and seeing somebody but after I saw in her mouth that this needed to be taken care of I was given several referrals and I decided on Dr. Santos. I came to her office with my husband and we were thoroughly given all the information necessary to make us feel like this was the best procedure and the best thing to do for little Sedone. Mind you too she was also I think less than a week old. So it was a big decision to decide to do something like this. We chose Dr. Santos not only for her from reviews that we saw online but also from meeting with her one -on -one coupled with the fact too that we were told that we could do laser or they could have it cut and we heard that lasering is less invasive and it’s more hygienic and it’s less stress on the baby and so that’s also why we chose to get this done. Nonetheless, we wanted it done immediately and Dr. Santos took the time out of her day without an appointment just for us to come right over and she actually completed the same procedure after meeting with us and it was a hundred percent turnaround literally after we left her office. She was taking to the breastfeeding a lot more and then with time she would latch on. We had to do exercises but I think the exercises helped in her recovery process and my husband and I both initially did them together but she is a hundred percent turnaround, absolutely. She latches on. I don’t have any problem. In fact, I have to sometimes limit her to how long she can breastfeed because she just wants to do it all the time. But I highly recommend the procedure and if we have any other children this will be the first thing that I would look for if I had problems with breastfeeding with a future child and I would highly recommend Dr. Santos and her office is wonderful, and Sedone will be coming here in the future.
Call us at (941) 909-2979