Intraoral Fire Due to Lasers
It's been over 25 years since I became aware that a fire could occur intra-orally. One of my mentors in implant dentistry shared a story of soldering titanium metal together with Nd:YAG laser. The patient died from a spark that ignited a high-flow oxygen from a nasal canula. Well, at the time I was not interested in dental lasers and felt this could not happen to me. Ten years later, I started doing IV sedation for the comfort of my patients. Going through my coursework, I was again introduced to fires created by an electro-surge. Working now with erbium lasers, I was aware that this laser created sparks. Ten years later, I started doing IV sedation for the comfort of my patients. Going through my coursework, I was again introduced to fires created by an electro-surge. Working now with erbium lasers, I was aware that this laser created sparks.
