Objective:

The purpose of this review was to evaluate systematically the scientific literature on the clinical results obtained by removing aberrant frenulums using conventional surgical procedures and laser.

Materials and methods:

A detailed search was performed in the PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane and SciELO databases to obtain the most up-to-date clinical results (postoperative pain, pain when speaking, pain when chewing and postoperative complications) among conventional (scalpel use) and laser removal techniques (search for clinical trials).

Results:

Of the 501 records initially identified, clinical reports, reviews, observational studies, comments, studies with pediatric patients, etc. were excluded. We included four clinical trials that contrasted the variables between the conventional technique and the techniques with the Nd: YAG laser and CO2 laser.

Conclusion:

The perception of postoperative pain, pain when speaking and chewing discomfort after frenectomy is lower in the techniques using the Nd: YAG and CO2 laser versus the techniques using the scalpel. The surgical time when using of laser is significantly lower than when using the scalpel. The heterogeneity of the studies limits the performance of a meta-analysis with respect to the results.

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