DVD burner malfunctioning

Hi,
I have a mid 2007 20.5" iMac model ID 7,1 , 1 gig of RAM (soon to be upgraded to 5 gigs), I recently upgraded to OSX Snow Leopard. The optical drive is still the original one that came with the machine (MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-85J, recently I started having trouble burning DVDs, whenever I try to burn a DVD using disc utility I get the following error message:
"The disc can’t be burned, because the device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media." Is my DVD drive toast, so to speak, or is there anything I can do to fix this?
I would be really grateful for any help.

Thanks

If you are a cigarette smoker then probably, they get a very sticky film that then gets covered with dust.

If not, then I'd change the brand of DVDs, some older drives are very fussy about the mass of cheap no brand DVDs. Try different brands until you find one it likes.

I actually am a smoker, I know, I know, it's a filthy habit and I should quit, but is there a way to thoroughly clean the lens?

not judging, used to myself. I've seen that error before and it was always with smokers.

Obviously try a different brand first.

Some HiFi shops sell lens cleaners but I've never had much success with them;-( sorry.