Lasers in dentistry: a review. Part 1.

Papers describing the dental applications of lasers have appeared in the dental literature for more than 30 years but there have been few comprehensive reviews. In this, the first of a two-part series, the author describes the earliest dental uses of lasers, the heightened interest which followed the appearance of the Nd:YAG laser in 1987 and the use of lasers in dentistry on hard and soft tissue. Part 2 will deal with the use of lasers in diagnosis, treatment and dental research.