Aim: The present clinical study is aimed to assess the pain associated with diode laser for crown lengthening procedure and to compare it with the conventional scalpel procedure. Methodology: Twenty patients including males and females, aged 20- 40 years were recruited and divided into two groups to undergo crown lengthening either with the scalpel or the laser. The data obtained was analysed for intergroup comparison with an Unpaired t-test and discomfort scores between the groups and intragroup comparison was determined by ANOVA. Results: Analysis for pain showed that there was a significant difference in VAS scores of pain on the day3 as well as on the day7 with patients in the laser group displaying significantly lower VAS scores compared to the scalpel group, but when both the groups were compared on the 7th day, there was no significant difference. Intergroup comparison of the mean VAS scores for discomfort observed on the 3rd, 5th and the 7th day of the study suggested that there was a significant difference of the VAS scores of discomfort on the 3rd and 7thday, with the patients in the laser group displaying significantly lower VAS scores for discomfort over conventional group. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the current study it can be inferred that there is lesser pain associated with LASER and it can be a comfortable and effective alternative to traditional crown lengthening performed with the scalpel.
