Effectiveness of thulium versus diode lasers in oral soft tissue surgery: a randomized clinical study

To comprehensively compare and evaluate the relative effectiveness of thulium laser and diode laser in oral soft tissue surgery procedures.

Thirty-three participants who needed oral soft tissue surgery, encompassing frenectomy and gingivectomy, were recruited and subsequently randomized into two groups including 14 in the experimental group and 19 in the control group. The experimental group was treated with thulium fiber laser, while the control group was treated with the diode laser (980 nm). The coagulation efficacy following the surgery was assessed. The postsurgical pain level was recorded using visual analog scales 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 240 h after the surgery. The effective healing rate were evaluated 10 days after surgery. The data were analyzed using the independent-samples t, Mann-Whitney U, and chi-square tests (α= 0.05).

There were 14 cases (100 %) of Grade I hemostasis in the experimental group and 16 cases (84.21 %) in the control group, with a P-value > 0.05 indicating no statistical difference. The mean pain score in the diode laser group were significantly higher than the corresponding values in the thulium laser group (P < 0.05). Tukey's test showed that the postsurgical pain level for the experimental group was significantly lower than that in control groups in 48 h (P < 0.05) and 72 h (P < 0.05) after surgery, and no statistical difference was found with the postsurgical pain level for the two groups in 24 h and 240 h after surgery. Within-group comparisons by ANOVA showed a significant difference in postsurgical pain level between the 4 time points in both groups (P < 0.05). Both the experimental and control groups achieved 100 % effective healing rates, also with no statistical difference.

Thulium laser demonstrates no statistically significant differences in hemostasis effect and healing rate compared to 980 nm diode laser for oral soft tissue surgery. The use of thulium laser was associated with significantly lower pain score after surgery.

This work assessed the efficacy of thulium lasers in oral soft tissue surgery and discovered that they exhibit efficacy comparable to diode lasers with regard to hemostasis and wound healing. Moreover, thulium lasers demonstrate superior pain - management capabilities. The findings suggest that thulium lasers hold significant potential for application in oral medicine.