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Response of feline intradental nerve fibers to tooth cutting by Er:YAG laser
Author(s) -
Chaiyavej Somsinee,
Yamamoto Hiroshi,
Takeda Atsushi,
Suda Hideaki
Publication year - 2000
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 - 10.1002/1096-9101(2000)27:4<341::aid-lsm7>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - dentin , laser , laser cutting , materials science , dentistry , pulp (tooth) , biomedical engineering , composite material , optics , medicine , physics
Background and Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the response of intradental A‐ and C‐fibers during tooth cutting by Er:YAG laser. Study Design/Materials and Methods Bipolar electrical stimulation was applied to the cat's canine to identify functional single nerve fibers of the inferior alveolar nerve. The tip of the canine tooth was cut in 0.5‐mm steps until the pulp was exposed. Teeth were alternately cut by using Er:YAG laser (50 mJ, 5 pps) and micromotor under water cooling. The nerve response recorded from the single nerve fibers during laser cutting was compared with that during micromotor cutting. Results All 26 A‐fibers responded to laser cutting with high frequency of nerve firings. The nerve firing rate was significantly higher during laser cutting compared with that during micromotor cutting of superficial dentin (X 2 test, P < 0.05) but was not significantly different at deep dentin ( P ≥ 0.05). Nine of 11 C‐fibers responded to laser cutting when the deep dentin was cut. Among those nine nerve fibers, three also showed a low frequency response to laser cutting of the superficial dentin. Conclusion During the tooth cutting, Er:YAG laser was more effective in activating intradental A‐fibers compared with micromotor and also caused the activation of intradental C‐fibers. Lasers Surg. Med. 27:341–349, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.