Dental Lasers: How to Choose.

A dental laser is not one instrument. Wavelength decides what tissue it can cut. A diode trims soft tissue and is often used for whitening or pain protocols. An erbium or the Solea CO2 can cut tooth and bone as well as soft tissue. An Nd:YAG such as the PerioLase is a periodontal tool, not a Class II preparation tool. Buy the procedures you will do this year, not the procedures in the brochure.

How to choose a dental laser

• Wavelength first. Diode and some Nd:YAG units are soft-tissue devices. Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG (Waterlase) cut hard and soft tissue with water cooling. The 9.3 µm CO2 used by Solea is a hard- and soft-tissue laser with a different handpiece feel.
• Who will use it. A diode in hygiene for troughing and lesion treatment is a different purchase from a hard-tissue laser that replaces a handpiece on preps. If only one doctor will touch it, do not size the investment for a five-doctor group.
• Tip cost and single-use items. Tips, fibers, and handpiece windows are the ongoing cost. Ask for a year of those consumables at your expected case count.
• Training and state rules. Soft-tissue use by hygienists is regulated state by state. A laser the hygienists cannot legally use is a doctor-only device. Price it that way.
• Plume and anesthesia. Hard-tissue lasers are often sold on reduced anesthesia. That depends on the tooth, the patient, and the wavelength. Do not write it into the business plan as a guarantee.

How the major laser types differ

Brand	Type	Best fit	Watch for
Biolase Waterlase	Er,Cr:YSGG, hard and soft tissue	Offices that want to cut tooth and soft tissue with one laser	Training and tip cost, not the gantry price
Biolase Epic and similar diodes	Diode, soft tissue	Hygiene and minor soft-tissue procedures	A diode will not cut enamel
Fotona LightWalker	Er:YAG plus Nd:YAG in one platform	Practices that want hard tissue and a separate soft-tissue wavelength	Two wavelengths means two learning curves
Convergent Dental Solea	9.3 µm CO2, hard and soft tissue	Restorative offices considering anesthesia-free preps on selected teeth	Confirm which teeth and which patients match your case mix
Ultradent Gemini	Dual-wavelength diode	Soft-tissue procedures with a cordless diode	Still a diode: gingiva, not enamel
AMD Picasso	Diode	Offices adding a lower-cost soft-tissue laser	Compare fiber and tip replacement cost
Millennium PerioLase	Nd:YAG, LANAP protocol	Periodontal practices using that specific protocol	The protocol and the training are the product

Biolase

Waterlase is Biolase’s Er,Cr:YSGG laser for hard and soft tissue. Epic is the diode line for soft tissue. Offices blur those names and then discover the diode will not prepare a tooth. If the goal is enamel and dentin, you are shopping Waterlase or a different hard-tissue brand, not a diode.

Fotona

LightWalker puts Er:YAG and Nd:YAG in one platform, so the same practice can cut hard tissue and use a separate wavelength on soft tissue. You are learning two delivery modes. That is worth it when more than one procedure line will use the unit every week.

Convergent Dental Solea

Solea is a 9.3 µm CO2 laser sold for hard- and soft-tissue dentistry, including preparations with less local anesthetic on appropriate teeth. Treat the anesthesia claim as case selection, not as a promise that every patient skips the injection. Ask which of your actual procedures the trainer will do on day one.

Diode lines: Gemini, Picasso, Epic

Ultradent’s Gemini is a dual-wavelength diode. AMD’s Picasso is the diode many smaller offices buy first. Biolase Epic sits in the same clinical bucket. All three are soft-tissue instruments. Compare weight, cordless versus tethered, and what a year of tips costs.

Millennium PerioLase

The PerioLase is an Nd:YAG tied to the LANAP periodontal protocol. Buy it when the practice will follow that protocol and send the doctors to the training. It is not a general-purpose operatory laser.

Related guides

• Handpieces and instruments
• Dental handpieces

Laser questions

Will a diode replace my electrosurge?

For many small soft-tissue trims, yes. Hemostasis and lateral heat are different. Try the procedures you do now before you retire the electrosurge.

Will a hard-tissue laser replace the handpiece?

It can replace the handpiece on some preparations. It will not replace it for every material removal, and you will still own high-speeds for the cases and the days the laser is down.