Gingival retraction involves temporarily displacing or removing the inner surface of the gingival sulcus to obtain an accurate impression of a prepared tooth. In a mouth-split study, six gingival displacement methods were compared to evaluate their effectiveness in retraction. The methods included retraction cord, retraction paste, astringent paste, ceramic bur, LiteTouch™ Er:YAG laser, and diode laser.

The result: The results revealed that all retraction methods, except for ceramic bur rotary curettage, led to clinically insignificant levels of gingival recession; The Er:YAG laser group demonstrated the lowest loss of gingival height levels in every single group of teeth.

The conclusion: The LiteTouch™ Er:YAG laser-troughing technique emerged as the most promising, exhibiting the lowest post-retraction gingival recession. This finding highlights the potential benefits of incorporating dental lasers, particularly the erbium laser, into their clinical practice to achieve more favorable gingival outcomes.

To read more about lasers in Periodontics go to www.light-inst.com/applications/periodontics/