Recently, dental laser have been applied for removal of soft tissues, hemostasis and blood coagulation, removal of benign and malignant tumor, treatment of leukoplakia, aphthous ulcer and herpetic lesion, implant second surgery, removal of granulation tissue, frenectomy, clinical crown lengthening, gingivectomy, gingivoplasty, and treatment of dentin hypersensitivity. Even though the frequency of laser treatment is increasing, the research on the healing process after gingivectomy using pulsed Nd : YAG laser is very rare. The purpose of this study was to observe and compare the wound healing after gingivectomy using scalpel and pulsed Nd : YAG laser in the rat. Gingivectomy was performed using pulsed Nd : YAG laser(SUNRISE Technologies, U.S.A., 1.5 Watts, 10 pps) on the buccal gingiva of right maxillary first molar and using scalpel(No.12) on the contralateral side. Those sites treated by surgical scalpel were designated as the control, and by pulsed Nd : YAG laser as the experimental group. Animals were sacrificed at 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14 days postoperatively, and specimens were histologically observed under light microscope. The results were as follows : 1. Clinical observation Normal color and shape were observed at the 5th day ill the control group and the 7th day in the experimental group. 2. Histologic findings 1) In the control group, denser inflammatory infiltration was observed. 2) Epithelialization started at the 2nd day in the control group, similar to the experimental group, and completed at the 11th to the 14th day postoperatively. 3) In the experimental group, connective tissue showed the vacuole formation and degenerative change during early healing period. Healing of connective tissue was slower in the experimental group than in the control group by 2 days. 4) In the both groups, wound healing was completed at the 2nd week. From this study, gingivectomy using pulsed Nd : YAG laser seems to result in a little delayed wound healing process, compared to the gingivectomy using scalpel. Considering the clinical advantages of laser surgery, pulsed Nd : YAG laser might be useful device for gingivectomy.