Laser apparatus and method of use for dental surgery

A minimally invasive dental surgical procedure for treating gum disease, the procedure stimulating periodontal tissue formation to anchor a root of a tooth, the procedure comprising the steps of:

• providing a laser that is a free-running pulsed Nd:YAG laser with laser parameters including pulse duration, pulse energy, and pulse repetition rate;
• connecting the laser and a handpiece via a length of optical fiber, the laser controlled by a controller having a user interface;
• anesthetizing gingival tissue around the tooth;
• in a pocket surrounding the tooth root, measuring a pocket depth from an upper gingival margin to a mucogingival junction;
• during a first time interval, lasing of the pocket interior to a) ablate or remove a portion of its epithelial lining to a depth of the pocket and b) remove granulomatous or inflamed tissue while leaving granulation tissue in place;
• rinsing the pocket to remove lased tissue debris;
• during a second time interval following the first time interval, lasing the pocket interior to form a stable fibrin clot within the pocket;
• and,
• during a third time interval following the second time interval, adapting soft tissue of the pocket interior for adhesion to a tooth root surface via applying finger pressure to squeeze the fibrin clot between the soft tissue and the tooth root surface;
• wherein for at least one of the lasing steps the controller utilizes settings for two of the laser parameters to influence a setting of the third laser parameter.