Verifiable CPD paper: Lasers and soft tissue: 'fixed' soft tissue surgery

doi:doi:10.1038/bdj.2007.172

British Dental Journal 202, 247 - 253 (2007)
doi:10.1038/bdj.2007.172

Verifiable CPD paper:
Lasers and soft tissue: 'fixed' soft tissue surgery

S. Parker¹

Lasers can be used in the surgical management of gingival hyperplasias, tooth exposure and hyperpigmentation.
Precise excision of gingival tissue relative to restorative procedures, with associated haemostatic control, can often allow treatment to proceed more smoothly and quickly.
Care should be observed when using lasers in areas where there is a close approximation of various hard and soft tissues, to avoid unwanted thermal damage.

Lasers in dentistry

Introduction, history of lasers and laser light production
Laser-tissue interaction
Low-level laser use in dentistry
Lasers and soft tissue: 'loose' soft tissue surgery
Lasers and soft tissue: 'fixed' soft tissue surgery
Lasers and soft tissue: periodontal therapy
Surgical laser use in implantology and endodontics
Surgical lasers and hard dental tissue
Laser regulation and safety in general dental practice

Within a general practice setting, there are few benign pathological conditions of the attached or keratinised gingival complex that are not amenable to simple surgical intervention. The majority of surgical procedures are adjunctive to the delivery of restorative dentistry. There is an understandable dogma worldwide towards the management of soft tissues as they interface with restorative procedures. Contemporary teaching, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level, would recognise the need for a period of wound healing and stability, based on scalpel-induced incisional therapy. The use of laser wavelengths, based on predictable evidence-based protocols, has re-defined the surgical management of keratinised mucosa that is bound to the underlying periosteum and bone. This can be seen as being of benefit to the clinician in determining the outcome, and the patient in achieving quality results.

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