There has been a considerable increase in the clinical use of lasers in dentistry over the past thirty years, especially in orthodontics. But clinicians who have not yet made their decisions about participating in this technological revolution can be perplexed by the great variety of wave lengths available, the vast number of machines that can be used to employ them, and the complexity of the principles of physics upon which lasers beams are based.

The objective of this article is to give practitioners a better understanding of the indications for the use of the various types of lasers.