The laser technology in impression-taking technique and soft tissues management [La tecnologia laser nel rilievo delle impronte in protesi fissa e nella gestione dei tessuti molli]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the tissue retraction and gingival healing in pulsed laser gingival retraction in comparison with the conventional mechanical or surgical technique (double cord and electrosurgery). A group of 103 patients (45 women, 58 men; mean age 42, range 19 to 52 years) scheduled for fixed and implant prosthetic rehabilitation was recruited, and three impression techniques were compared: the double cord technique, the electrosurgery technique, the 980 nm diode laser technique. Patient were randomly placed into three groups according to impression-taking technique. The impression material were addition silicones (polyvinylsiloxanes of second generation). The outcome was measured by the bleeding index (during the impression taking and after 15 days), and gingival retraction (after 15 and 30 days). Compared to the conventional techniques the laser technique proved to be less aggressive in terms of absence of gingival bleeding, and there were also fewer cases of gingival retraction than with the conventional technique. This study suggests that the laser technique can be valuable for prosthetic rehabilitation and may be less traumatic to the periodontal tissue.