A good surgical laser for cutting soft tissue must be able to vaporize soft tissue, while at the same time efficiently coagulating surgical margins. Not all laser wavelengths are suitable to comply with both requirements. This course focuses on the practical aspects of soft tissue laser surgery and on the fundamental processes involved in the laser-tissue interaction; it helps attendees learn how deep the laser beam cuts and how deep the coagulation and hemostasis extend into the surgical margins. Our hands-on participation lab is designed to train attendees on what surgical lasers can do safely and efficiently. The Laser Surgery and Safety Basic Knowledge Certification Curriculum for this Course were developed by the American Laser Study Club (ALSC). The ALSC’s curriculum overcomes the known limitations of many laser dentistry courses and includes the detailed physics of soft tissue ablation and coagulation with laser and hot tip (non-laser) devices. The hands-on laser wetlab on tissue samples will include laser safety instructions, frenectomy simulations and other surgical laser procedure demonstrations. Laser instructions will be assisted by the guest speaker Peter Vitruk, PhD, MInstP, CPhys, a laser physicist who founded the American Laser Study Club and LightScalpel Inc.