When you purchase any high technology product in the twenty-first century, various criteria influence the purchase. You want your technological marvel to be the best at what it does. You want it to be versatile and durable. The marketplace boasts many examples of products that excel at only one of these criteria. These are typically items that we love but grow tired of quickly. An old Triumph could put a grin on your face when it ran. Portable DVD players were pretty cool, but that's all they did. The reality is that the best and often most successful new technologies perform their appointed tasks with little fanfare. They quickly earn the "how did I ever live without this?" acceptance in our daily, monthly, and future lives. They don't break because of fragile design. They have little or no service requirements, and if service is needed, it is EASY for the owner or service technician to perform. Most of all, THEY ARE RELIABLE!

As an owner of a Lares PowerLase® AT since September 2005, I can attest to the bulletproof reliability of the unit. It has never faltered, failed to perform a task, or required ANY service. It operates multiple times every day I practice, four days a week. It invariably provides the most fun I have on any given work day. I look back now and wonder how I could have done hundreds of procedures with the level of precision this laser affords me! I use both the Nd:YAG and Er:YAG wavelengths, often making several mode changes per patient. The machine does not care, it just DOES! I have yet to hear another laser owner be able to say their laser has been 100% reliable. I suggest they buy a Lares to experience peace of mind reliability in their highest technological modality in the office. Reliability is nothing new for Lares. Our office has used their headpieces dating back to the origins of the Apollo fiber optic lights. You just can't kill them. I have 757's that are more than twenty years old with yellowed out fiber optic bundles that haven't needed a turbine change in ten years. By the way, I use these old workhorses to cut off old bridgework and other nastiness routinely. They seem to love the challenge!! Need I say more?

Let's talk quality of construction. My original keypad, even after five years of being disinfected and countless thousands of button pushes, looks like new. The Nd:YAG has a fiber optic connection that never ceases to amaze me. I have accidentally hooked the cable or tugged it to a point where I was sure I "did it this time" only to find it undamaged. The little handpiece that holds the cable for procedures lasted more than four years until a rep gave me a new, "better" handpiece. The real jewel of this laser, however, is the Er:YAG and its articulated arm that allows for 97% energy transmission at the same time that it offers incredible strength and balance for the operator.

I consider these mirrors and their ability to transmit this energy nothing short of a miracle, yet they are also bulletproof reliable. I have religiously followed the service protocols, and as a result, I have never needed to change a mirror. The tips are so well built that it has taken me five years of ownership to use up my initial supply of quartz tips! If not for a few novice blunders such as the occasional overzealous assistant learning to disinfect the unit, I'd still have a few tips left.

Reliability means the technology is there when you need it, no exceptions. The PowerLase AT remains the most technologically advanced piece of equipment in my office and it has also proven the most reliable. I welcome anyone who wants to see this unit at work to give me a call to stop by and see it at work. The Lares Powerlase AT needs no preparation; it is ready to shine on command!

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