Concept
A dental laser is a type of laser designed specifically for use in oral surgery or dentistry. In the United States, the use of lasers on the gums was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the early 1990s, and use on hard tissue like teeth or the bone of the mandible gained approval in 1996. Several variants of dental lasers are in use with different wavelengths and these mean they are better suited for different applications. Diode lasers Carbon dioxide lasers Nd:YAG laser Diode lasers wavelengths in the 810–1,100 nm range are poorly absorbed by the soft tissues such as the gingivae, and cannot be used for soft tissue cutting or ablation. Instead, the distal end of diode’s glass fiber is charred (by burned ink or by burned corkwood, etc.) and the char is heated by the 810-1,100 nm laser beam, which in turn heats up the glass fiber’ tip. The soft tissue is cut, on contact, by the hot charred glass tip and not by the laser beam itself. This is used for variety of oral surgery procedures such as gingivectomy, frenectomy, treatment of Pericoronitis, and exposure of superficially impacted teeth. This method was primarily used by the Michigan school of dentistry . Similarly Nd:YAG lasers are used for soft tissue surgeries in the oral cavity, such as gingivectomy, periodontal sulcular debridement, LANAP, frenectomy, biopsy, and coagulation of graft donor sites. The Nd:YAG laser wavelength are partially absorbed by pigment in the tissue such as hemoglobin and melanin. These lasers are often used for debridement and disinfection of periodontal pockets. Their coagulative ability to form fibrin allows them to seal treated pockets. The CO2 laser remains the best surgical laser for the soft tissue where both cutting and hemostasis is achieved photo-thermally (radiantly). Er:YAG laser Carbon dioxide laser Er,Cr:YSGG laser Erbium lasers are both hard and soft tissue capable. They can be used for a host of dental procedures, and allow for more procedures to be done without local anaesthesia.
