Bone healing after bur and Er:YAG laser ostectomies

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Biomaterials Science
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Ostectomies are common in oral surgery, often using rotatory or reciprocating devices.
• These traditional methods present challenges like noise, vibration, and thermal damage.
• Laser systems offer a potential alternative for ostectomy procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare bone healing after mandibular ostectomy using a surgical bur versus a noncontact erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser.
• To evaluate the impact of different laser energy levels on bone healing.
• To analyze the histomorphological changes during the healing process.

Main Methods:

• Mandibular ostectomy was performed on rats using either a surgical bur or an erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser.
• Three different energy parameters were tested for the laser.
• Bone samples were collected at 7, 14, 45, 60, and 90 days post-surgery for optical microscopy analysis.

Main Results:

• Surgical bur ostectomies showed healing originating from the cortical endosteum and trabecular bone, with complete cortical endosteum repair by 45 days.
• Laser treatment resulted in bone neoformation from both the external cortical surface and endosteum.
• Thermal damage was observed in laser-treated areas up to 60 days, followed by bone remodeling.

Conclusions:

• Laser ostectomies caused a thin layer of thermal damage.
• Bone healing was more rapid with surgical burs.
• Both methods achieved similar bone healing outcomes by the 90-day mark.