Laser-Lok
Also known as: Laser-Lok microchannels, LaserLok, BioHorizons Laser-Lok
BioHorizons’ laser-ablated band of regularly spaced microchannels applied to the collar of implants and to abutment surfaces, intended to organise soft-tissue and crestal bone attachment.
Key facts
| Manufacturer | BioHorizons Implant Systems, Inc.Verified spec[1] |
|---|---|
| Production process | Described by BioHorizons as "a series of cell-sized circumferential channels that are precisely created using proprietary laser ablation technology", producing consistent microchannels together with a repeating nanostructure.Manufacturer-reported[2][1] |
| Topography | Manufacturer documentation not located(Third-party summaries commonly quote 8-12 micrometre channel widths. The BioHorizons documents we read describe the channels as "cell-sized" without giving a dimension, so we do not state one.) |
| Manufacturer-described indication | BioHorizons states the surface elicits a biologic response including inhibition of epithelial downgrowth and attachment of connective tissue, producing a biologic seal around the implant that protects and maintains crestal bone health.Manufacturer-reported[2][1] |
| Clinical evidence | BioHorizons’ clinical overview presents crestal bone loss of 0.59 mm for Laser-Lok against 1.94 mm for a control, and states that the surface has been shown to attach connective tissue using light microscopy, polarised light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.Manufacturer-reported[2]Manufacturer-presented comparative data; the control implant, study design and follow-up period are not stated in the material we read. |
| Surface roughness | Insufficient evidence(The surface is characterised by channel geometry rather than by an average roughness figure.) |
Overview
Laser-Lok is aimed at a different problem from most implant surfaces. Where a blasted-and-etched surface is trying to get bone to grow onto the body of the fixture, Laser-Lok is trying to get soft tissue to attach at the collar - to build a seal at the point where the implant passes through the gum, on the theory that a proper attachment there protects the bone underneath. That is why it is a band at the top rather than a treatment of the whole implant, and why the claims made for it concern crestal bone loss and epithelial downgrowth rather than time to loading. The evidence position is the honest complication: BioHorizons has published human histology and comparative bone-level figures, but the material available to us is the manufacturer’s own, and the claim that this is the only surface producing a genuine connective tissue attachment is a marketing formulation rather than a settled finding. It is a well-defined and unusual technology whose independent evidence base we have not yet assessed.
Sources
Numbers match the citations beside each claim above.
Primary sources
- [1]Laser-Lok — BioHorizons product page — BioHorizons Implant Systems, Inc.. Accessed 2026-07-21.
- [2]Laser-Lok microchannels — clinical overview — BioHorizons Implant Systems, Inc.. Accessed 2026-07-21.