Effectiveness of Diode Laser in Intraoral Soft Tissue Surgeries - An Evaluative Study.

Introduction: The clinical application of the diode laser seems to have beneficial effects in surgery. The laser provides precise and rapid tissue dissection, excellent haemostasis and lessens post-operative inflammation. This study was done to assess the clinical effectiveness of diode laser in the management of different varieties of intraoral soft-tissue lesions. Materials and Methods: After applying exclusion criteria, a total of 50 samples were selected with benign intraoral soft-tissue lesions treated with a diode laser under local anaesthesia between September 2017 and September 2020. Each patient was followed up on the 3rd, 7th and 15th post-operative days for healing, pain, infection and swelling. Results: From all patients, a total of 50 were evaluated in the study; out of all, 60% of patients had no pain on the 2nd follow-up. As per the Landry Index of Healing, 54% of patients had excellent healing. None of the cases had post-operative bleeding, infection was present in 4% at the 1st-2nd follow-up, and in 2% of cases, post-operative swelling was present. The efficacy of diode lasers was tested using the Chi-square test and P < 0.01, which was statistically significant. Discussion: Diode laser seems to be superior over conventional treatment modalities as it provides a bloodless dry field and increases patient comfort during surgery. It also lessens the post-operative pain and swelling. Diode laser can safely and effectively be used as a treatment modality for benign soft-tissue lesions, without any complication and without compromising the health and function of patients.

Ectopically Positioned Tooth Piercing the Philtrum.

A variety of eruption disturbances arise during the transitional dentition period, which can be broadly classified as disturbances related to time and disturbances related to position. The occurrence of ectopic eruption is relatively common, but ectopically positioned tooth piercing the philtrum is a rare clinical presentation. This is a case report of a 70-year-old female who presented with the chief complaint of an abnormally positioned tooth piercing out from the upper lip to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Karnavati School of Dentistry, Uvarsad, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. As per the patient's history, labially erupted tooth was piercing the philtrum for 60 years and it was visible extraorally from the philtrum and was painful.