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. 2012 Jul;3(2):124-32.
doi: 10.4103/0975-5950.111342.

Laser in dentistry: An innovative tool in modern dental practice

Sanjeev Kumar Verma  1 , Sandhya Maheshwari, Raj Kumar Singh, Prabhat Kumar Chaudhari
Affiliations

Laser in dentistry: An innovative tool in modern dental practice

Sanjeev Kumar Verma et al. Natl J Maxillofac Surg. 2012 Jul.

Abstract

The term LASER is an acronym for 'Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation'. As its first application in dentistry by Miaman, in 1960, the laser has seen various hard and soft tissue applications. In the last two decades, there has been an explosion of research studies in laser application. In hard tissue application, the laser is used for caries prevention, bleaching, restorative removal and curing, cavity preparation, dentinal hypersensitivity, growth modulation and for diagnostic purposes, whereas soft tissue application includes wound healing, removal of hyperplastic tissue to uncovering of impacted or partially erupted tooth, photodynamic therapy for malignancies, photostimulation of herpetic lesion. Use of the laser proved to be an effective tool to increase efficiency, specificity, ease, and cost and comfort of the dental treatment.

Keywords: Dental application; lasers; photostimulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Various types of lasers and their corresponding wavelengths
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of action of the laser
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interactions of the laser on tissue
Figure 4
Figure 4
Aesthetic gingival contouring; a-e, pretreatment condition; b-c-f, after laser procedure; d, post treatment
Figure 5
Figure 5
Crown exposure; a-c-e, before exposure; b-d-f, after laser exposure
Figure 6
Figure 6
Removal of hyperplastic tissue; a-d, pretreatment; b-e, after laser
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a and b) Exposure of embedded coil spring used during retraction; (c) a punch hole created for implant placement
Figure 8
Figure 8
(a and b) labial frenectomy; (c and d) lingual frenectomy
Figure 9
Figure 9
Safety measures in dental office during laser application
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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