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Laser Periodontal Therapy
In LANAP (Laser-assisted new attachment procedure) surgery, a variable pulsed neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG at 1064nm wavelength) dental laser is used by a trained and certified dentist or periodontist to treat the periodontal pocket. The laser energy selectively removes diseased or infected pocket epithelium from the underlying connective tissue. The necrotic epithelium is stripped from the connective tissue at the histologic level of the rete pegs and rete ridges. Since the laser energy is quite selective for pocket epithelium, the underlying pleuripotential connective tissue is spared, thereby permitting healing and regeneration rather than formation of a pocket seal by long junctional epithelium. In periodontics it is a process through which cementum-mediated periodontal ligament new attachment to the root surface in the absence of long junctional epithelium is achieved for the treatment of moderate to severe gum disease (including gingivitis and periodontal disease). Stimulation of existing stem cells permits the formation of new root surface coating (cementum) and new connective tissue (periodontal ligament) formation (collagen) on tooth roots. The paradigm of periodontal healing in the absence of guided tissue regeneration barriers (GTR) or bone grafting materials (allografts) has finally been successfully challenged in the twenty first century.
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