title: Seeing the Light--the truth about soft tissue lasers and nonsurgical periodontal therapy.
abstract: Although laser treatment has generated considerable interest among dentists and the public, there is no evidence that any laser system adds clinical value over and above scaling and root planing and conventional surgical treatment for periodontitis. Following a brief explanation of the mechanism behind soft tissue lasers, the evidence on the use of laser therapy in addition to traditional nonsurgical periodontal treatment in the management of periodontal diseases is reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Clinical Sciences, DalhousieUniversity, Halifax, Nova Scotia. dmatthew@dal.ca
authors.forename: Debora C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000628:therapy*; D003646:Debridement / Q000295:instrumentation; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D054020:Lasers, Gas / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation; D013357:Subgingival Curettage / Q000295:instrumentation