Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2021	Jan. 25, 2019	Jan. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Mar. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2018
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Litigation settlement share issued	20,000
Contingent loss on patent litigation settlement				$ 0	$ (29,000)		$ (190,000)
Accrued liability	$ 600,000			6,919,000				$ 8,276,000
Patent Litigation
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Contingent loss on patent litigation settlement								$ 300,000
CAO Settlement Agreement | Patent Litigation
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Settlement agreement date		January 25, 2019
Number of days litigation settlement to be paid in cash		5 days
Litigation settlement in cash		$ 500,000
Number of days litigation settlement shares to be issued		30 days
Litigation settlement share issued		20,000
Number of days litigation settlement to be paid in value of stock consideration		30 days
Settlement agreement, terms		The Company agreed (i) to pay to CAO, within five days of the Effective Date, $500,000 in cash, (ii) to issue to CAO, within 30 days of the Effective Date, 20,000 restricted shares of BIOLASE common stock (the “Stock Consideration”), and (iii) to pay to CAO, within 30 days of December 31, 2021, an amount in cash equal to the difference (if positive) between $1,000,000 and the value of the Stock Consideration on December 31, 2021.
Litigation settlement amount in cash equal to difference between value of stock consideration		$ 1,000,000
Contingent loss on patent litigation settlement									$ 1,500,000
Payment for litigation settlement in cash			$ 500,000
Loss on litigation settlement						$ (200,000)
Accrued liability				$ 800,000