Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail)					1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 04, 2020 ft²	Jan. 22, 2020 ft²	Jan. 25, 2019 USD ($) shares	Jan. 01, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) ft² Lease	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease term	66 months	5 years
Operating lease, options to renew term						1 year
Lessee, Operating Lease, Existence of Option to Extend [true false]						true
Area of corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility | ft²	11,000	11,000				11,000
Lease expiration date	Jul. 01, 2020	Jul. 01, 2020				Dec. 31, 2025
Operating lease, right-of-use asset						$ 1,976,000	$ 276,000
Operating lease, liability						$ 2,079,000	326,000
Lessee, operating lease incremental borrowing rate				12.78%
Operating lease not yet commenced description						As of December 31, 2020, the Company had no leases that had not commenced.
Number of operating leases not yet commenced | Lease						0
Rent expense						$ 700,000	800,000	$ 800,000
Purchase commitments pending						11,400,000
Contingent gain (loss) on patent litigation settlement								(1,500,000)
Accrued liability						6,667,000	4,744,000
Employee Arrangements and Other Compensation
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Change in control, if occurs, may require severance benefits payable						2,000,000	3,000,000
Accrued for performance bonuses						$ 800,000	$ 200,000
Patent Litigation | Settlement Agreement
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 | shares			500,000
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, 500,000 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 as of December 31, 2021.
Litigation settlement amount in cash equal to difference between value of stock consideration			$ 1,000,000
Contingent gain (loss) on patent litigation settlement						$ 0		$ (1,500,000)
Payment for litigation settlement in cash					$ 500,000
Accrued liability						$ 1,000,000
ASU 2016-02
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Operating lease, right-of-use asset				$ 800,000
Operating Lease Right Of Use Asset Statement Of Financial Position Extensible List				Other assets
Adjustment for deferred rent				$ 200,000
Operating Lease, Liability, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]				us-gaap:OtherLiabilities
Operating lease, liability				$ 1,000,000
Cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings				$ 0
Manufacturing Facility
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease expiration date						Jun. 30, 2025
Minimum
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease term						1 year
Maximum
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease term						5 years