Lasers in Dentistry—Current Concepts

Donald J. Coluzzi , DDS,  a 1970 graduate of the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, is a professor in the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences at the University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry. He ran his own private practice of general dentistry in Redwood City, CA, and retired from it after 35 years. He is a life member of both the California Dental Association and the American Dental Association. He has served as a past president of the Academy of Laser Dentistry, received its Leon Goldman Award for Clinical Excellence, and is a past editor in chief of the Journal of Laser Dentistry . He has used dental lasers since early 1991 and holds advanced proficiency in Nd:YAG and Er:YAG wavelengths. He is a fellow of the American College of Dentists as well as the International College of Dentists, is a University of California-certified dental laser educator, and is a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the national dental honor society. He recently received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the American College of Dentists. Dr. Coluzzi serves as a reviewer for several journals has presented about lasers worldwide, coauthored three textbooks, and published several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.

Dr Steven Parker studied dentistry at University College Hospital Medical School, University of London, UK, and graduated in 1974. He practiced clinical dentistry during a continuous period of 43 years. He is currently Honorary Professor, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences atDe Montfort University, Leicester, UK, where he received his Doctorate in laser photonics. Dr Parker has been involved in the use of lasers in clinical dentistry since 1990. He is closely involved in the provision of education in laser use in dentistry. From 2010 to 2019, he  served an appointment as Professore a Contratto in the Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics,University of Genoa, Italy. During that period, he acted as International Coordinator and lead faculty of the Master of Science ( AMD Livello II ) degree program in laser dentistry at the University of Genoa. 

Dr. Parker served as president of the Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD) in 2005–2006. He holds Advanced proficiency status in multiple laser wavelengths. He was awarded Mastership of the ALD in 2008. Awards gained with the Academy have been the Leon Goldman Award for Excellence in Clinical Laser Dentistry (1998) and Distinguished Service Award (2010). He was the dental consultant to the UK Medical Health Regulatory Agency (Dept. of Health) in the 2008 (Revised 2015) publication “Guidance on the Safe Use of Lasers, Intense Light  Source Systems and LEDs in Medical, Surgical, Dental and Aesthetic Practices”. 

Dr. Parker has contributed chapters on aspects of laser use in dentistry in several textbooks and multimedia platforms. Additionally, he has received publication of over 80 peer-reviewed papers on the use of lasers in dentistry, including a 9-paper series “The Use of Lasers in  Dentistry” , published in the British Dental Journal in 2007 and later as a textbook. He serves as associate editor of  Lasers in Medical Science and as referee for many peer-reviewed dental journals worldwide.