Abstract
Background: Dental implant is one of the most important options for teeth replacement. In two stage implant surgery, a few options could be used for uncovering implants, scalpel and laser are both considered as effective methods for this purpose. The Aim of the study: To compare soft tissue laser and scalpel for exposing implant in 2nd stage surgery in terms of the need for anesthesia, duration of procedure and pain level assessment at day 1 and day 7 post operatively using visual analogue scale . Materials and methods: Ten patients who received bilateral implants participated after healing period completed, gingival depth over each implant was recorded and then implant(s) were exposed by either scalpel or laser with determination for the need of anesthesia. Duration of the procedure was calculated in each case and post-operative pain was assessed by Visual analogue scale at day 1 and day 7. Results: Statistically significant difference in the need of anesthesia was found. A non-significant difference in the duration of the operation was found between the two methods. Non-significant difference was found between the two methods regarding post-operative pain at day 1, with the day 7 scores "no pain or zero pain score" in all the cases by the two methods. A directional significant correlation was found between depth of the gingival tissue over the implants and duration of the procedures regardless of the method used. Conclusion: diode laser can be used effectively for uncovering implants, providing both the dentist and the patient with additional advantages over the conventional methods. Although there was insignificant difference in pain scoring, however implant exposure by laser was more preferred by the patients.