Efficacy of Er:YAG Laser in the Decontamination of Peri-implant Disease: A One-Year Prospective Closed Cohort Study

A significant number of articles have been published to describe a variety of techniques for the treatment of peri-implant disease, with varying success. Previous reports have presented limited data on the use of lasers for the decontamination of implant surfaces prior to defect augmentation using guided bone regeneration techniques. The current study is a prospective closed cohort study of 20 patients with a follow-up of 1 year. It was established to assess the efficacy of the Er:YAG water-cooled laser following initially promising reports suggesting the laser can decontaminate and sterilize the implant surface and allow for reosseointegration of the affected portion of the implant.