title: The effects of a CO2 laser on the healing of a bone defect.
abstract: This case report illustrates a potentially valuable application of the CO2 laser in periodontal surgery. An intrabony defect was treated with a bone allograft. During the 28-day postsurgical period, epithelialization of the wound was delayed by lasing the soft tissue over the bony defect at weekly intervals for 4 weeks. This procedure resulted in complete regeneration of the bone defect in this case. Controlled studies need to be carried out to determine if the use of the laser to retard epithelial downgrowth has a clinically significant effect on bone regeneration.
authors.affiliation: State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corsair
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D004848:Epithelium / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008437:Maxilla; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000601:surgery; D010519:Periodontium / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013536:Suture Techniques; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000528:radiation effects*