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Chemical and morphological changes of femtosecond laser‐irradiated enamel using subablative parameters
Author(s) -
Casarin Heitor Hussni,
Mattos Vicente Silva,
Castro Neto Jarbas Caiado,
Chinelatti Michelle Alexandra
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.23795
Subject(s) - enamel paint , raman spectroscopy , irradiation , carbonate , scanning electron microscope , materials science , femtosecond , laser , analytical chemistry (journal) , mineralogy , chemistry , optics , chromatography , composite material , physics , nuclear physics , metallurgy
Chemical composition of dental enamel has a great relationship with the prevention of caries. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the chemical and morphological changes of femtosecond laser‐irradiated enamel with subablative parameters using Raman spectroscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Bovine incisor teeth were used to obtain 30 enamel specimens (5 × 5 mm 2 ). The chemical composition of the control sample was analyzed by Raman spectrometry to acquire the absorption spectrum, delimiting the areas under the carbonate and phosphate bands. This analysis was used to evaluate the change in the chemical composition of the sample after irradiation. The specimens were irradiated (IRR) with a Ti:Sapphire laser system (pulsed and focused modes, femtosecond regime 70 fs, average power of 1 W and exposure time of 15 s). After irradiation, the areas under the carbonate and phosphate absorption bands were delimited in each specimen. Raman spectrometry data were analyzed using Student's t ‐test (α = 5%). By comparing the spectra of the IRR and non‐irradiated (NI) specimens, the results showed a significant increase in the area value for the phosphate peaks and a significant reduction in the area value for the carbonate peak and the carbonate:phosphate ratio. CLSM and SEM analyses did not reveal structural alterations in the subsurface nor morphological alterations in the IRR enamel surface, respectively. It was concluded that femtosecond laser irradiation using subablative parameters reduced the carbonate content and the carbonate/phosphate ratio without altering the structure and morphology of the dental enamel.