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Wavelength

Er:YAG 2940 nm

Why it matters: it removes tooth, bone and gum with almost no heat.

Water absorbs 2940 nm more strongly than any other dental wavelength, so the energy goes into removing tissue instead of heating it. For you, that means fewer injections, cleaner preps and more procedures kept in your own chair.

Fewer injectionsMany preps and soft tissue cases done without local anesthetic.
Fewer referralsKeep endo, perio, implant and surgical cases in-house.
Everyday dentistryPreps, soft tissue, bone and endo with one handpiece.

1For you

An easier day in the operatory.

Less setup, fewer instruments, and fewer patients waiting to get numb.

Skip the needle more often

Er:YAG preps and most soft tissue work can often be done without local anesthetic. No waiting for numbness, no numb lip afterward, and multiple quadrants in one visit get easier.

See the research

One handpiece, many jobs

Cavity prep, gingivectomy, frenectomy, crown lengthening, bone recontouring and implant uncovering, all with the same laser. Fewer burs, blades and electrosurge setups to manage.

Presets do the setup

Pick the procedure on the touchscreen and the LightWalker loads the starting settings. 80 built-in presets means your team isn't guessing, and you can save your own.

Bond right away

Laser-prepped enamel and dentin come out clean, with no smear layer, so you can go straight to bonding without extra steps.

2For your patients

A visit they don't dread.

Patients remember how treatment felt. That drives reviews, referrals and case acceptance.

Less pain and anxiety

A meta-analysis of 11 studies found laser caries removal caused less pain and anxiety than a bur. In kids, it meant less anesthetic with the same success at one year.

Meta-analysis, 2025

No drill noise or vibration

The sound and feel of the handpiece is what most anxious patients hate. The laser works without either, which makes a big difference for phobic adults and children.

Cleaner endo

SWEEPS pushes irrigant into lateral canals and isthmuses that files never touch. A review of 15 studies found it outperformed conventional irrigation, especially near the apex.

Systematic review, 2025

Perio without the flap

With TwinLight, Er:YAG clears calculus and diseased tissue while Nd:YAG disinfects and seals the pocket. No scalpel and no sutures, so patients say yes to treatment they'd otherwise put off.

How the Nd:YAG step works

3For your practice

Protocols you can offer tomorrow.

Cases you stop referring out, and everyday procedures you can do faster and without the needle.

$1,500 / quad

TwinLight perio

Treat moderate to advanced pockets in-house instead of sending them to the periodontist.

Keeps cases in-house
$400 / tooth

SWEEPS endo

Better canal disinfection on the cases you already do, and confidence to take on more.

Keeps cases in-house
$650

Osseous crown lengthening

Closed, without a flap, often same day as the restorative work.

Same-day add-on
$300

Cavity prep

Drill-free preps, often with no injection, so you can do more quadrants in one visit.

Everyday procedure
$450

Gingivectomy

Contour tissue before restorations, same visit, without a blade.

Same-day add-on
$325

Exposure of unerupted teeth

Uncover teeth for ortho without referring to a surgeon.

Keeps cases in-house

Sample fees from the ROI calculator. Set your own based on your market.

See what it adds up to for your office.Plug in your own fees and monthly volume.
Calculate your ROI

4The science, briefly

Why it works, and why it matters.

2940 nm is the wavelength water absorbs most strongly. Everything above comes from that one fact.

What happensEnergy stays at the surface

Water in the tissue absorbs the beam within about a micron and flashes to steam. Why it matters: less heat reaches the pulp, which is why patients often don't need anesthetic.

What happensTissue is ejected, not burned

The steam breaks the tissue apart and carries the heat away with it. Why it matters: clean margins, no char, and a surface that bonds well.

What happensAbout 3× the absorption of Er,Cr:YSGG

More of each pulse goes into cutting instead of heating. Why it matters: faster preps and less chair time. See it below.

Same prep, side by side

Er:YAG on the left is through in about 22 seconds. Er,Cr:YSGG on the right still hasn't finished when the clip ends at a minute.

Er:YAG
22 s
Er,Cr:YSGG
Not through at 60 s
See the absorption chart
Absorption of water, hemoglobin and melanin by wavelengthLog-scale absorption coefficient from 700 to 3100 nanometers, with dental laser wavelengths marked. Water absorption peaks near 2940 nm; hemoglobin and melanin dominate in the near-infrared around 1064 nm.0.010.11101001,00010,000100,0001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000700Wavelength (nm)Absorption coefficient (cm⁻¹, log scale)Diode 810–980Nd:YAGEr,Cr:YSGGEr:YAGMelaninHemoglobinWater≈12,000 cm⁻¹≈4,000–5,000

Approximate values from published absorption data: water (Hale & Querry 1973), whole-blood hemoglobin (Prahl), melanin (Jacques). Simplified for teaching.

Research

Meta-analysisLaser caries removal vs. the bur

Eleven studies. Er:YAG removed caries conservatively with less pain and anxiety than a bur, though it usually took longer.

ScienceDirect, 2025
Pediatric RCTEr:YAG vs. drill in children

Less anesthetic, less pain and less anxiety with the laser. Success rates at one year were about the same.

J Clin Pediatr Dent, 2024
Systematic reviewSWEEPS and PIPS in endo

Fifteen studies. Laser-activated irrigation beat conventional irrigation on smear layer and biofilm, and SWEEPS did best near the apex.

PMC11941447
In vitroCleaning failed implant surfaces

Er:YAG removed carbon contamination from implants pulled for peri-implantitis.

PMC6313799
Laser physicsQSP ablation and heat vs. Er,Cr:YSGG

Measures cutting efficiency and heat in enamel for LightWalker's Er:YAG modes next to an Er,Cr:YSGG system.

Lukac et al., 2016

See it on a real case.

In your office or over video.

Book a demoCalculate your ROI
Dan Breit

Dan Breit

Territory Manager, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut

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All views and opinions on this site are my own and do not represent those of Fotona. Content is for educational purposes for dental professionals and is not medical advice. Some research and clinical content on this site comes from the Laser and Health Academy (LA&HA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to education on lasers in medicine. Those contributions reflect the views and clinical experience of their authors and should not be regarded as official product information.