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Erbium laser ablation of dental hard tissue: Effect of water cooling
Author(s) -
Visuri Steven R.,
Walsh Joseph T.,
Wigdor Harvey A.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1996)18:3<294::aid-lsm11>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - ablation , materials science , dentin , laser , enamel paint , er:yag laser , laser ablation , pulp (tooth) , water flow , hard tissue , water cooling , biomedical engineering , dentistry , composite material , optics , environmental science , medicine , physics , environmental engineering , mechanical engineering , engineering
Background and Objective Several lasers have been explored for hard dental tissue applications; used alone they have resulted in potentially harmful temperature increases in the pulp chamber. Materials and Methods An Er:YAG laser (λ = 2.94 μm) was used to ablate hard dental tissues. Ablation rates with and without a water‐cooling spray were measured. Subsequent experiments investigated the cooling effects of the water. Initially single channels were drilled into dentin; further studies involved ablating rectangular areas with repetition rates up to 10 Hz. Results The water spray minimally reduced the ablation rates of dentin and did not affect the ablation rates of enamel. The water spray effectively cooled the teeth; while using the maximum average power investigated (10 Hz, 360 mJ/pulse), a water flow rate of 4.5 ml/min limited the temperature rise in the pulp chamber to less than 3°C. Conclusion The studies confirm the feasibility of using an Er:YAG laser in conjunction with a water spray to safely and effectively remove hard dental tissues. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.