BIOLASE, Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Stock-Based Awards and Per Share Information - Additional Information (Detail)

Stock-Based Awards and Per Share Information - Additional Information (Detail)							1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Aug. 12, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 13, 2015 $ / shares shares	Mar. 09, 2015 $ / shares shares	Jan. 02, 2015 $ / shares shares	Nov. 07, 2014 shares	Jul. 18, 2014 USD ($) shares	Jun. 30, 2015 shares	Feb. 28, 2014	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) Officer Consultant $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) Officer Consultant $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares shares
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Compensation cost related to stock options \| $									$ 621,000	$ 301,000	$ 2,256,000	$ 887,000
Net impact of share based compensation expense to earnings per basic share \| $ / shares									$ (0.01)	$ (0.01)	$ (0.04)	$ (0.02)
Net impact of share based compensation expense to earnings per diluted share \| $ / shares									$ (0.01)	$ (0.01)	$ (0.04)	$ (0.02)
Total unrecognized compensation cost \| $									$ 5,700,000		$ 5,700,000
Unrecognized share based compensation cost to be recognized over weighted-average period											2 years 8 months 12 days
Expected term									6 years	4 years	5 years 8 months 12 days	3 years 9 months 18 days
Volatility									86.17%	85.65%	88.98%	94.41%
Risk-free interest rate									1.70%	1.65%	1.60%	1.66%
Outstanding stock options and warrants excluded from diluted loss per share									15,536,000	4,703,000	15,536,000	4,703,000
Retired Shares of stock held in treasury						1,963,500
Annual Stock Dividend Payable Rate								0.50%
Dividends Payable, Date of Record								Mar. 14, 2014
Percentage of stock dividend declared											0.00%
Private Placement
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock shares issued					9,206,000
Comerica Bank
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock shares issued												38,708
Warrants
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants exercised									0	0	0	0
Common Stock
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Treasury stock retired \| $						$ 2,000
Additional Paid In Capital
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Treasury stock retired \| $						$ 16,397,000
President and Chief Executive Officer
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares vested and exercised consecutive term		36 months
Shares vested and exercisable date		Jul. 13, 2016
Share based compensation arrangement by share Based payment award fair value price \| $ / shares		$ 1.19
Expected term		6 years 1 month 6 days
Volatility		85.83%
Risk-free interest rate		1.93%
CFO Grant Award Tranche One
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock options granted			523,026
Share based compensation arrangement by share Based payment award fair value price \| $ / shares			$ 1.48
Expected term			6 years 1 month 6 days
Volatility			88.79%
Risk-free interest rate			1.83%
CFO Grant Award Tranche Two
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock options granted			348,684
Share based compensation arrangement by share Based payment award fair value price \| $ / shares			$ 1.70
Expected term			10 years
Volatility			87.87%
Risk-free interest rate			2.19%
Non Qualified Stock Options \| President and Chief Executive Officer
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock options granted		870,000
Options granted exercise price \| $ / shares		$ 1.64
Options expiration period		10 years
Options vesting period		4 years
Non Qualified Stock Options \| Chief Financial Officer
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock options granted			871,710
Options granted exercise price \| $ / shares			$ 1.99
Options expiration period			10 years
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Restricted stock units issued											37,000
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) \| President and Chief Executive Officer
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options granted exercise price \| $ / shares		$ 1.64
Number of shares awarded		870,000
One Year Anniversary \| President and Chief Executive Officer
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Option shares vested and exercised		217,500
One Year Anniversary \| CFO Grant Award Tranche One
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Option shares vested and exercised			130,757
Shares vested and exercised consecutive term			35 months
Shares vested and exercisable date			Mar. 09, 2016
Options Vesting And Becoming Exercisable Each Month \| President and Chief Executive Officer
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Option shares vested and exercised		18,125
Options Vesting And Becoming Exercisable Each Month \| CFO Grant Award Tranche One
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Option shares vested and exercised			10,896
Thirty Six Month Anniversary \| CFO Grant Award Tranche One
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Option shares vested and exercised			10,909
Shares vested and exercisable date			Mar. 09, 2019
Ten Year Anniversary \| CFO Grant Award Tranche Two
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Option shares vested and exercised			248,684
Shares vested and exercisable date			Mar. 09, 2025				Jun. 23, 2015
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Accelerated Vesting, Number							100,000
2002 Stock Incentive Plan
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Plan expiration date											May 05, 2019
Common stock authorized for issuance under the 2002 Plan									11,550,000		11,550,000
Common stock issued pursuant to options exercised											3,068,000
Options and restricted stock units outstanding									5,442,000		5,442,000
Options available for future grants									3,040,000		3,040,000
Two Thousand Fifteen Compensation Plan \| Non Qualified Stock Options
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of officers \| Officer									6		6
Number of consultants \| Consultant									1		1
Two Thousand Fifteen Compensation Plan \| Non Qualified Stock Options \| Officers and Consultant
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock options granted				1,365,702
Options granted exercise price \| $ / shares				$ 2.64
Options expiration period				10 years
Options vesting description											(i) as to one-half of the options, one-fourth on the first anniversary of the grant date and the remaining three-fourths, ratably over the next thirty-six month period, commencing on the thirteenth month from the grant date, and (ii) as to the other half of the options, upon the achievement of specific annual Company performance criteria.
Decrease in fair value awards \| $	$ 661,000
Additional compensation expense related to modification \| $									$ 154,000		$ 154,000
Two Thousand Fifteen Compensation Plan \| Non Qualified Stock Options \| Service Based \| Officers and Consultant
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock option vesting percentage				50.00%
Two Thousand Fifteen Compensation Plan \| Non Qualified Stock Options \| Performance Based \| Officers and Consultant
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock option vesting percentage				50.00%