Immediate effect of Nd:YAG laser monotherapy on subgingival periodontal pathogens: a pilot clinical study.

Purpose: This pilot study assessed the immediate effect of high peak pulse power neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser monotherapy on selected red/orange complex periodontal pathogens in deep human periodontal pockets.

Methods: Twelve adults with severe periodontitis were treated with the Laser-Assisted New Attachment Procedure (LANAP®) surgical protocol, wherein a free-running, digitally pulsed, Nd:YAG dental laser was used as the initial therapeutic step before mechanical root debridement. Using a flexible optical fiber in a handpiece, Nd:YAG laser energy, at a density of 196 J/cm² and a high peak pulse power of 1,333 W/pulse, was directed parallel to untreated tooth root surfaces in sequential coronal-apical passes to clinical periodontal probing depths, for a total applied energy dose of approximately 8-12 joules per millimeter of periodontal probing depth at each periodontal site.

Immediate Effects of Laser-Assisted New Attachment Procedure (LANAP) on Human Periodontitis Microbiota.

Objective: The Laser-Assisted New Attachment Procedure (LANAP) surgical protocol was compared to ultrasonic root debridement alone for immediate post-treatment effects on putative bacterial pathogens in deep human periodontal pockets.

Methods: In a case series of 26 systemically healthy adults with severe periodontitis, 20 patients were treated with the LANAP surgical protocol and 6 patients received ultrasonic root debridement alone. LANAP surgery was performed using a free-running, pulsed Nd:YAG laser, with laser energy (4.