SP-05 Laser Assisted Root Canal Disinfection versus Gentlewave: A Comparison of Outcomes

Glen Karunanayake is an educator and practicing endodontist with more than 30 years of clinical and academic experience. Trained at Guy's Hospital Dental School and the Eastman Dental Institute in London, he developed a strong foundation in biologically based endodontics and high-quality technical practice. In 2018, he joined the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry as an Associate Professor, where he taught both dental students and residents. While at UNC, he served as principal investigator for a randomized controlled clinical study comparing outcomes using Waterlase iPlus, GentleWave, and passive ultrasonic irrigation. He currently serves as Interim Chair of the Department of Endodontics and Associate Clinical Professor at the Indiana University School of Dentistry.

Dr. DeMayo serves the greater Princeton New Jersey area's endodontic needs in private practice full-time as a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics. However, he also devotes part of his time as a part-time Adjunct Faculty at the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry Graduate Endodontics Department and as a Clinical Associate at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine Endodontic Department. Throughout his academic career, he has always had a passion for dental research. This passion started while obtaining his Masters of Public Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health where he was a project coordinator on the Oral Infections Glucose Intolerance and Insulin Resistance Study. Later, he continued his interest in research as an Associate Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at Wharton School of Business at The University of Pennsylvania, while in dental school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. These experiences led to several publications concerning periodontal health and its association with diet and celiac disease. He also examined the rates of opioid overdoses in the US Medicaid population among new prescription users. During dental school, he also served as a Scientific Journal Reviewer for Quintessence International Dental Journal. His current research interests concern endodontic advanced irrigation, specifically examining the GentleWave system, Biolase Waterlase system, and passive ultrasonic irrigation devices and their impacts on post-operative endodontic outcomes. Dr. DeMayo is very excited to talk about this topic for a second time at American Association of Endodontics annual conference.