INTRODUCTION Laser-tissue interactions have been extensively used in a number of biomedical treatments. However, the high optical absorption in tissue and the use of relatively long laser pulses or, in many cases, cw laser exposure, frequently results in excessive laser-heating producing undesirable collateral damage. Short pulsed lasers are one of the most precise tools for delivering energy a...

Introduction During the last decade, it was discovered that low-power laser irradiation has stimulatory effects on bone tissue, in the microscopic (cell proliferation [1-5] and gene expression [6] and macroscopic [1,2,4,12,13-20] biological systems. In order to understand the effects of laser therapy, its mechanism of action in the cell needs to be established. Many explanations have been propo...

of aluminum oxide, that emitted a deep red-colored beam. After this invention, dental researchers started investigating the various potentials of lasers. In 1965, Stern and Sognnaes reported that a ruby laser could vaporize enamel and had thermal effects on the dental pulp. In 1970’s, researchers began to find the clinical oral soft tissue uses of medical CO2 and neodymiumdoped:yttrium aluminum...

A new method for in vivo neural activation using low-intensity, pulsed infrared light exhibits advantages over standard electrical means by providing contact-free, spatially selective, artifact-free stimulation. Here we investigate the biophysical mechanism underlying this phenomenon by careful examination of possible photobiological effects after absorption-driven light-tissue interaction. The...

Nonthermal in vitro ablation of bovine neural tissue by using laser-induced optical breakdown generated by ultrashort laser pulses, with durations from 100 fs to 35 ps and pulse energies of up to 165 μJ, has been investigated. The experiments were performed at wavelengths ranging from 630 to 1053 nm by using a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser, a femtosecond dye laser, and a picosecond Nd:YLF laser...

introduction: the purpose of this case report is to analyze the results of vestibuleplasty around an over-denture based on dental implants to determine the evidence on the effectiveness of laser-assisted surgery and soft tissue management in implant dentistry. case report: the patient in this case report was a 57 year- old male who was completely edentulous, with a mandibular over denture based...

In this article, the authors review basic fundamental principles of light characteristics and their interaction with the target tissue. It is imperative for the practitioner to understand these concepts to deliver appropriate, efficacious, and safe phototherapeutic treatment for their patients. Once a diagnosis is made and a laser is chosen as a treatment tool, a basic knowledge and understandi...