LASER VERSUS CONVENTIONAL SURGICAL TECHNIQUES TO UNCOVER DENTAL IMPLANTS IN THE SECOND-STAGE SURGERY

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Lecturer, Oral and Maxillofacial surgery, Faculty of oral and dental medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.

2 Lecturer, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Department, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt

3 Lecturer, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Department, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

4 Lecturer, Periodontics Department, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, MUST University, Egypt

5 Associate Professor, Oral Medicine, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Statement of Problem: This review investigates laser benefits in second stage dental implant surgery as compared to conventional methods. Methods of Study: An electronic database search on PubMed, Cochrane library and LILACS for clinical studies in which laser was used for the second-stage implant surgery were selected and evaluated. Results: initial search yielded 136 studies, 15 were considered potentially relevant, out of which only three were finally selected. They studied the effect of laser on postoperative pain, the need for anesthesia and analgesia, hemostasis, time needed before impression and quality of it, duration of surgery and peri-implant soft tissue conditions. The results shows that the assessed studies are too limited in number beside exhibiting small sample sizes. They are clinically heterogeneous so that a solid conclusion cannot be reached. Conclusions: Researchers should be attracted to laser use to close a very obvious research gap. Randomized clinical trials are strongly recommended.

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