Neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet laser irradiation with low pulse energy: a potential tool for the treatment of peri-implant disease

Bacterial contamination may seriously compromise successful implant osteointegration in the clinical practice of dental implantology. Several methods for eliminating bacteria from the infected implants have been proposed, but none of them have been shown to be an effective tool in the treatment of peri-implantitis. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of pulsed neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet laser irradiation (Nd:YAG) in achieving bacterial ablation while preserving the surface properties of titanium implants. For this purpose, suspensions of Escherichia coli or Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) actinomycetemcomitans were irradiated with different laser parameters, both streaked on titanium implants, and in broth medium. It was found, by light and atomic force microscopy, that Nd:YAG laser, when used with proper working parameters, was able to bring about a consistent microbial ablation of both aerobic and anaerobic species, without damaging the titanium surface.