From 2023 to 2026, Alexander completed the Master’s programme “Laser Dentistry” at the University of Vienna.

Not because it looks impressive on a diploma. But because he is convinced that dentistry, and endodontics in particular, stands on the eve of something that should have happened much sooner. Lasers are not a hype. They are the answer to a question that no one dared to ask out loud for over a hundred years.

The dirty secret of root canal treatment

The heart of a good endodontic treatment is not drilling. It is not filling either. It is disinfection. Thorough, complete, without compromise. And yet, to achieve this, we have been using sodium hypochlorite since 1917. Plain bleach, in essence. More than a hundred years later, in an era of MRI scanners and robotic surgery, we are still rinsing root canals with the same substance used during the First World War, the same product you use at home to clean your toilet. Personally, I find this too absurd for words, but this is the reality. Fortunately, that is finally beginning to change.

In our practice, I work with two types of lasers, each with its own role.
The erbium laser works like a Kärcher pressure washer inside the root canal. It removes the debris, the smear layer, and the biofilm that has settled on the canal walls in the meantime. It leaves the canal walls spotless, so the next laser can shine its way through the tooth.
The diode laser tackles a different problem. Bacteria are not stupid: they hide deep in the lateral canals and recesses of the tooth, beyond the reach of irrigants and light. Or almost: because light of the right wavelength does penetrate through dental tissue. The diode laser tracks down those bacteria and kills them immediately through photothermal action.

Is this the holy grail? No. But it is a great deal closer to a root canal treatment that truly deserves the name.