Preprosthetic vestibuloplasty performed by three different types of lasers versus conventional scalpel

Background and objectives A stable maxillary total prosthesis in an edentulous jaw requires a definite amount of ridge height. Deficient vestibular depth in an atrophic maxilla can cause severe functional impairment for patients with total prosthesis. This affects their quality of life, with impact on their general health. Preprosthetic vestibule remodeling could be carried out using conventional surgery or lasers to obtain an appropriate depth. The aim of our study was to compare the clinical results obtained through the conventional approach versus the modern laser method, recording postoperative complications. Materials and methods Thirty-six patients were selected for this clinical study, were divided in 3 equal groups, and the vestibuloplasty was performed by conventional surgery on the right side and by laser for the left side of the maxilla. The former served as a Control group. For the latter we utilized 3 types of lasers: for Group 1, the vestibuloplasty was performed with a neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser, for Group 2 we utilized a diode laser, and for Group 3 the patients were treated using an erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser. Postoperative complications such as edema, pain, and hemorrhage were recorded during the early healing time. Results Six weeks after the surgery the vestibule lengthening was measured for each patient. A higher vestibular deepening was obtained for the conventional surgery compared to that of laser-treated sites immediately after the procedure. At the end of the healing process, wound shrinkage was significantly higher in conventional scalpel procedure compared to the laser groups. There were no significant differences in the healing process related to the type of laser. On the other hand, complications after the surgery were higher in the scalpel group compared to all the laser groups. Conclusion These results suggest that laser-based treatments are superior compared to conventional ones for preprosthetic vestibuloplasty. Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov, TRN: NCT07462117, Registration date: 30 April 2018.