The “sound scientific basis and proven efficacy in order to ensure public safety” is one of the main eligibility requirements of the ADA CERP recognition standards and procedures. The scientific foundation for understanding soft-tissue laser ablation and coagulation is based on the soft tissue’s light scattering and absorption spectra. Unfortunately, many laser dentistry educational programs and publications include misinterpretations about soft-tissue laser science and safety. Such misrepresentations partially take their origin in the laser dentistry curriculum guidelines, which date back to the early 1990s.

This presentation reviews some of the most important laser-tissue interaction concepts —ones that are missing from the vocabulary of the Laser Dentistry Curriculum Guidelines and Standards, but very important for safe and efficient use of soft tissue lasers for frenectomies, namely: depth of incision, depth of coagulation/hemostasis, and hot glass tip cautery.

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