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Introduction

Enhance your understanding of the issues of laser surgery, including tongue-ties and lip-ties! As many as 5 percent of all babies born in the US have tongue-ties significant enough to cause breastfeeding difficulties. Affected babies often fail to thrive and can be erroneously labeled as “lazy nursers” or “stubborn feeders.”

A good surgical laser for soft tissue surgery must be able to vaporize soft tissue while at the same time efficiently coagulating surgical margins. Not all laser wavelengths are suitable to comply with both requirements. This course focuses on the practical aspects of soft tissue laser surgery and the fundamental processes involved in the laser-tissue interaction; it helps attendees learn how deep the laser beam cuts and how deep the coagulation and hemostasis extend into the surgical margins. Our hands-on participation lab is designed to train attendees on what surgical lasers can do safely and efficiently.

Instructors

• Cara Riek, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, IBCLC
• Stevanie Bahnerth, DC
• Peter Vitruk, PhD, MInstP, CPhys

Read Course Instructor Bios

Earn 8 CE Hours

8 CDE hours will be provided through GLOH Education, an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. We will also apply to receive 8 Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours for participating in this course. Final CME hours may vary.

Tuition Rates (USD)

$450; ALSC members: $50 off (automatic discount); and LightScalpel users: $50 off (ask us for a coupon code). Register now.

Clinical Curriculum

The goal of an infant frenectomy is to establish proper eating/breastfeeding and breathing (suck-swallow-breathe) patterns. The goal of functional frenectomy in children, adolescents, and adults is to release the restricted frena and to restore, with the help of mandatory pre- and post-frenectomy Oro-Myofunctional Therapy (OMT), the mobility and functionality of tongue and lips for optimal breathing, speech, chewing, swallow, and posture. During this course, the attendees will learn the following:

• Infant sucking physiology and how tongue ties impact infant suck.
• Current methods of clinical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of lingual and labial ties.
• Reliable diagnostic criteria to screen babies for this condition.
• Consequences and benefits of using lasers to remove oral restrictions.

In addition, attendees will:

• Get an introduction to Science-based, safe, and efficient use of surgical lasers for Nurse Practitioners, Physicians, Dentists, Lactation Consultants, Speech and Language Therapists, et al.; and
• Learn to remove oral restrictions using soft-tissue lasers through participation in a hands-on workshop.

Laser Curriculum

The Laser Surgery and Safety Basic Knowledge Certification Curriculum for this Course has been developed by the American Laser Study Club (ALSC). The ALSC’s curriculum overcomes the known limitations of many laser surgery/dentistry courses. It includes detailed soft tissue ablation and coagulation physics with laser and hot tip (non-laser) devices. Laser hands-on wet lab on tissue samples will consist of laser safety instructions, frenectomy simulations, and other surgical laser procedure demonstrations. Laser instructions will be assisted by the guest speaker Peter Vitruk, PhD, MInstP, CPhys, a laser physicist who founded the ALSC and LightScalpel Inc.

Hands-On Participation Session

• Laser Safety
• Laser Surgical Technique Simulations
• Superficial Ablation
• Superficial Coagulation
• Shallow Incisions
• Deep Incisions
• Practicing Surgical Techniques on a Pig jaw

Course Certificates

Course participants, who successfully complete the examination, will be awarded a LASER SAFETY basic knowledge CERTIFICATE from the Board of Laser Safety of the Laser Institute of America (DISCOUNTED cost for the ALSC members), as well as a Laser Dentistry and Laser Surgery Basic Knowledge and Hands-On participation Wetlab CERTIFICATE from the American Laser Study Club (FREE for the course participants).

GLOH Education is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. This continuing education activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the standards of the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP) through joint efforts between GLOH Education and the American Laser Study Club GLOH Education designates this activity for 16 continuing education credits.

*Information, terms, and conditions in this communication are subject to change without prior notice. The American Laser Study Club reserves the right to change the course’s location, date and time, material; and cancel the course. Registered attendees will be notified within a reasonable window of time about any major changes to the course. If a course is canceled, registrants will be notified, via email, two weeks before the course date, at which time a full refund will be issued. Requested refunds will incur a 20% processing fee. No cancelations within 2-weeks of the course date.