Laser technology to manage periodontal disease: a valid concept?

UNLABELLED Present day dental lasers can create oral environments conducive for periodontal repair. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE With the bacterial etiology of periodontitis and the resulting host inflammatory reaction, clinicians continue to search for therapeutic modalities to assist in the non-surgical management of periodontal disease. Traditional chairside therapies consist of mechanical debridement with manual and/or ultrasonic instrumentation with the objective of removing calculus, biofilm, and endotoxin from tooth root surfaces. Decreasing the microbial stimuli and associated end products decreases the inflammatory reaction and allows the host an opportunity to regenerate tissue through wound healing. The purpose of this article is to examine whether dental lasers, which have been in use for the past 3 decades, may augment traditional non-surgical periodontal therapy. METHODS Review of research publications related to lasers and non-surgical periodontics with attention focused on systematic studies. CONCLUSIONS Studies utilizing laser technology may demonstrate positive effects on 1) selectively decreasing the biofilm environment, 2) removing calculus deposits and neutralizing endotoxin, 3) removing sulcular epithelium to assist in reattachment and decreased pocket depth, and 4) biostimulation for enhanced wound healing. Comparisons of studies to determine the difference between lasers and their respective effects on the periodontium are difficult to assess due to a wide variation of laser protocols.