Clinical Assessments of the Erbium:YAG Laser for Soft Tissue Surgery and Scaling

Abstract

We evaluated the clinical usefulness of an erbium:YAG laser for soft tissue surgery, and scaling. Thirty-one patients with soft tissue lesions (13 males and 18 females from 24 to 71 years old), and 60 patients with calculus deposits (21 males and 39 females from 19 to 72 years old) were treated with the laser. The clinical parameters evaluated were pain, redness, swelling of the gingiva, and the subjective patient comfort parameters including uneasiness with the sound and vibration associated with laser treatment. Additionally, hemorrhage and wound healing during and after the surgery, the roughness of the root surface after scaling, and the effectiveness of scaling using the laser were examined. Laser surgery caused less hemorrhage and resulted in better wound healing when compared with conventional methods. It was easy to remove calculi from the root surface with the laser in 95% of the cases. Although the scaled site showed some irregularity, it was not clinically significant in 98% of the cases. Only a few patients complained about the unpleasant sound and vibration. There were no complications or side effects during this clinical trial. Thus, this study suggests that an Er:YAG laser is useful for soft tissue surgery and scaling.