Treatment Of Oral Leukoplakia By Er:YAG Laser: Current Relevance To Dental Practice

Laser ablation/vaporization is considered to be a safe and effective alternative technique for treating oral leukoplakia (OL) lesions. Recently, more interest has been gained in using Er:YAG laser radiation for OL removal. The purpose of the current systemic review was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of removing OL using Er:YAG laser. The main outcomes included were the improvement of wound healing and OL recurrence rate/malignant transformation following Er:YAG laser irradiation. The literature demonstrated that Er:YAG laser could be considered an efficient and reliable method for treating OL. Uncomplicated healing was observed, moreover, favourable healing with lower or no recurrence rate or malignant transformation was observed. However, the key factor preventing a final, solid conclusion for effective use of Er:YAG laser for OL removal was that the available literature are mainly comparative case reports. The heterogeneity of the used laser protocols (laser settings; different sizes, depths and localisations of the OL lesions) have hindered comparing the results and drawing a final conclusion. Therefore, further randomized control clinical trials with considerable power and longer follow-up periods are, however, recommended.