Clinical and histological comparison of fibrotomy with scalpel and Er,Cr:YSGG laser on dog's periodontium

Background & Aim: Having more disadvantages of surgical treatment in comparison
with utilizing of lasers, and also beneficial characteristics of Er,Cr: YSCG laser. This
study was designed to compare the clinical and histological results of fibrotomy with
laser and scalpel.
Method and materials: This study was done on 5 male dogs, with same gender and
age, having no periodontal problems. Anesthesia was provided by intramuscular
injection of Ketamin and Xylazin. Four incisor teeth in each dog were randomly
divided
into two groups of laser and scalpel fibrotomy. The fibrotomy was hold by CSF in the
depth of gingival sulcus. The used laser was Er,Cr:YSGG with the power of 15 W.
After two months, the five dogs were scarified and the vital perfusion was performed
using Formalin. The fibrotomied teeth were resected with their surrounding bone and
the samples were immersed in 10% formalin solution for 15 days in room
temperature. Samples were blocked in Parafin and sectioned with microtom in the
size of 5 microns.
Data were analyzed by Wilcoxon sign-rank and McNemar tests.
Results: According to this study, scalpel method is prior to laser use. In support of
this fact, it is noteworthy that in all comparisons, clinical and statistical results of pulp
status in scalpel group were better than laser one.
Conclusion: Different Studies showed that lasers have some advantages in
comparison with scalpel such as homeostasis, surgical versatility, not suturing, pain
relief and sterilization of operation site; but for disadvantages of laser, slower tissue
cutting or ablation, delayed healing and reduced surgical precision can be named. No
significant statistical difference was observed between studied groups except the
pathologic status of pulp which was worse in laser group rather than scalpel group,
and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.005).
Key Words: Clinical, histological, comparison, fibrotomy, scalpel, Er,Cr:YSGG
laser, dog, periodontium