Evaluation of Cutting Accuracy and Thermal Damage in Oral Soft Tissue Using Different Surgical Techniques

To evaluate the cutting accuracy and thermal damage in oral soft tissue using different cutting procedures. Sixty specimens of oral tissue mucosa, with the dimensions of 2.0 cm in length and 1.5 cm in width were prepared and divided into six groups (n = 10) representing different cutting procedures. Incisions were made by sectioning each specimen using the 2.0 µm continuous-wave fibre laser (Group A), the 1.5 µm continuous-wave fibre laser (Group B), electrosurgery (Group C), diode laser (Group D), the 2.0 µm ultrashort-pulsed fibre laser (Group E), and the scalpel (Group F or control group). Each specimen was measured for average roughness and thermal damage, reported as mean and standard deviation. A one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey’s HSD test was performed to determine significant differences among six groups, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Among the energy-based groups, the 2.0 µm ultrashort-pulsed fibre laser (Group E) exhibited the lowest average roughness (Ra = 1.22 ± 0.71 µm) and minimal thermal damage (9.85 ± 4.01%). In contrast, the highest average roughness (Ra = 4.82 ± 1.36 µm) was observed in the electrosurgery (Group C), while the highest thermal damage (16.73 ± 4.57%) was recorded in the 1.5 µm continuous-wave fibre laser (Group B). One-way ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences among the groups in both average roughness (F = 45.45, p < 0.001) and thermal damage (F = 11.84, p < 0.001). The findings suggest that the 2.0 µm ultrashort-pulsed fiber laser offers superior cutting accuracy with minimal impact of thermal damage, supporting its potential adoption into clinical protocols for oral soft tissue surgery.