Dental Laser Therapy Shows Promise for Reducing Bleeding Risk in Older Patients

Managing bleeding during routine dental work is an everyday challenge, particularly for older patients who may be on blood-thinning medications or have conditions that affect how quickly their blood clots. A prospective study published in Dentistry Journal examined whether dental lasers could serve as a practical, drug-free tool for controlling that bleeding across multiple levels of clinical settings.

The study focused on laser therapy's ability to minimize bleeding and support blood clot formation, enrolling 60 patients aged 50 and older — with an average age of about 63 — who were considered at elevated risk for postoperative bleeding following dental treatment.

Procedures covered in the study included 94 tooth extractions, 28 scaling and root-planing sessions, and 18 minor oral surgeries.

The researchers found that combining laser-assisted soft-tissue loosening with a light-based technique called photobiomodulation — which stimulates the body's own clot-forming process — was the most effective approach for extraction sites. Across all procedures, operators confirmed that nearly 98 percent of bleeding events achieved more rapid clotting than expected.

Extraction sockets showed significant healing within two to four weeks of the procedure, and no clinical complications were reported.

The laser method has been in use in Thailand's public healthcare system for routine tooth extractions in older patients, and it uses a high-intensity diode laser to loosen soft tissue during extraction, followed by photobiomodulation therapy to encourage blood clot development in the socket.

While the study was observational rather than a randomized controlled trial — meaning results should be interpreted with some caution — the findings add to a growing body of evidence supporting laser tools as a low-risk, minimally invasive complement to standard dental care, particularly for patients whose medical history makes bleeding a concern.