COLTON, Calif. (Dow Jones/AP) -- Medical lasers can remove hair, make wrinkles and moles disappear, and restore eyesight.

Now they're being used to fix teeth.

Biolase Technology Inc. has developed a new way to perform dental surgeries by using the combination of laser energy and water spray to repair decaying teeth and diseased gums.

The new laser surgery is coming to the rescue of Carol Paysen's dental pain - and her taste buds. Grinding teeth in her sleep caused "abfractions" - or small fractures - to develop at the gumline. Trying to chew tough foods would send sharp jolts of pain through some of her teeth.

In a recent visit to dentist James Jesse at his Colton, Calif., office, the pockets that formed from the fractures below the gumline were smoothed out with Biolase's Waterlase laser.

The laser procedure, and a bondable material that was rubbed in to fill the fractures, was done in a matter of minutes. "You are more inclined to trust someone who doesn't inflict pain," said the 53-year-old Paysen.

She delayed repair of the fractures because of fears over the old procedure, which involved a high-speed drill and 18-gauge needles used to inject anesthetic into her gums.

Jesse describes the Biolase laser as something of a miracle wand. With the laser, Jesse rarely uses an anesthetic, and almost never hears a patient complain of pain. Antibiotics are not needed to get rid of possible infections, as bacteria from a decayed tooth is washed out and sterilized in the laser procedure, and bleeding is kept to a minimum due to the laser's cauterizing effects.

Only a slight popping sound can be heard during the procedure, which is the laser coming into contact with a jet stream of water used as a cutting agent on the tooth's enamel, or patient's gums. A handheld, gun-shaped device is pointed inside the mouth to direct the laser-energized water in the surgery, and can be outfitted with different sized tips to get desired cut, says Jeffrey W. Jones, president and chief executive of Biolase, San Clemente, Calif.

The laser energizes the water particles, which then explode through the tips at speeds up to 2,000 miles per hour.

Only the water hits the tissue, not the laser.

Though lasers for use in treating gums have been around for decades, the Biolase laser is revolutionary because it can be used for cavity preparation, wisdom tooth removal, root canals and crown lengthening procedures. "This is significant," said Susan Runner, branch chief of dental services with the FDA.

"Biolase is the first company to get endodontics therapy approval for the complete treatment of the tooth. Other companies have gotten approval for specific tasks within endodontics, ... but not the whole thing," Runner said. (Endodontics is the branch of dentistry that deals with diseases of the tooth root, dental pulp, and surrounding tissue.)

Other small laser rivals in the United States include American Medical Technologies Inc., Corpus Christi, Texas; Continuum, a unit of Japan-based Hoya Inc.; OpusDent, a unit of Israel-based Lumenis Ltd., and Germany's KaVo Dental GmbH.

For Biolase, there may be payoffs for being first. Alexander K. Arrow, analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., describes Biolase as the "first-ever profitable medical laser company," which it achieved in its 2001 fiscal fourth quarter. But Arrow maintains that sustaining profitability rests with the company's ability to get dental schools to embrace laser technology and teach it as part of the curriculum.

The high-speed drill debuted in dental schools nearly four decades ago, yet it took until the late 1960s before the majority of U.S. dentists adopted it over the belt-driven drill. Laser manufacturers are betting on a similar adoption trend for lasers, though it may take longer because of several problems encountered with lasers and their marketing over the past five or so years.

For sure, Biolase has a tough sell to the nation's 141,000 dentists, who are generally a conservative bunch and slow to change. Also, there have been several highly publicized missteps by other laser makers, making dentists hesitant to buy lasers. Less than 1 percent U.S. dentists use a laser, according to Arrow.

Almost five years ago, Premier Laser Systems Inc., Irvine, Calif., became the first to win U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance to market its laser for use in tooth repairs. But Premier's $40,000 price tag left many dentists with their mouths agape.

Also, the embryonic laser industry was pushed into a state of dormancy as early leader Premier faced shareholder lawsuits claiming misrepresentation of operations and sales. As well, the laser was said to have poor cutting performance.

The company eventually sought bankruptcy protection in 2000 after selling only 60 lasers. The industry is just now beginning to regain its footing - owing much to Biolase's successes and string of recent FDA approvals for new laser applications in the mouth.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.