Vol. 5, Issue 5, Part B (2019)

Background: Various researchers have claimed the superiority of laser surgery over traditional methods. So it has become an important issue to access the advantages of laser surgery over traditional scalpel surgery.

Aim: To test the efficacy of wound healing following laser gingivectomy and scalpel gingivectomy. Methods: Thirty patients with a total of forty quadrants of gingival enlargement were selected for external bevel gingivectomy. They were randomly divided into two groups. Group-I (Test Group): enlarged gingiva removed by laser gingivectomy. Group-II (Control Group): gingiva removed by conventional scalpel gingivectomy.

Results: Group I showed no significant differences in plaque and gingival means between the visits, the bacteriological examination showed no growth of bacteria and histological examination revealed less inflammatory cells than Group II. Group II showed significant differences in plaque and gingival indices between the visits.

Conclusion: Postoperative records were almost comparable between two groups. No statistically significant difference found in healing between laser gingivectomy and scalpel gingivectomy. Laser gingivectomy may have some advantages over it.