Use of Laser in Periodontal Tissue Regeneration: A Scoping Review of Clinical and Experimental Evidence

Background and Objectives: Periodontitis leads to progressive destruction of periodontal tissues and, despite advances in regenerative approaches, clinical outcomes remain inconsistent. Lasers have been proposed as adjuncts in regenerative periodontology for their antimicrobial, hemostatic, and photobiomodulatory properties, but the available evidence is heterogeneous. This scoping review aim to systematically map clinical and experimental evidence on the role of lasers in periodontal tissue regeneration. Materials and Methods: The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched up to September 2025 without time restrictions. Eligible studies included in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo and clinical research assessing the application of lasers for periodontal tissue regeneration. Reviews, conference abstracts and studies unrelated to regeneration were excluded. Results: The electronic search retrieved 314 records, of which 193 unique articles were screened after duplicates removal. Seventeen full texts were assessed and 15 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Included studies comprised 5 in vitro investigations, 2 ex vivo studies, 1 in vivo animal study, and 7 clinical studies, published between 2015 and 2025. In vitro and ex vivo evidence demonstrated that laser irradiation enhanced cell proliferation, differentiation, growth factor release, and root surface conditioning. The in vivo study confirmed increased angiogenesis and bone formation after Er:YAG photobiomodulation. Clinical studies, including randomized controlled trials and case reports, reported improvements in probing depth reduction, clinical attachment gain, and radiographic bone fill, especially when lasers were used in combination with regenerative techniques or biomaterials. Conclusions: Available evidence suggests that lasers can positively modulate biological processes and enhance the outcomes of regenerative periodontal procedures. However, the limited number of high-quality clinical trials, variability in laser types and parameters, and heterogeneity in protocols limit the strength of current conclusions. Further standardized randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-up are needed to clarify the clinical relevance of lasers in periodontal tissue regeneration.