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Automated ablation of dental composite using an IR pulsed laser coupled to a plume emission spectral feedback system
Author(s) -
Jang Andrew T.,
Chan Kenneth H.,
Fried Daniel
Publication year - 2017
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/lsm.22668
Subject(s) - galvanometer , optical coherence tomography , laser , materials science , composite number , biomedical engineering , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , optics , computer science , dentistry , medicine , composite material , mathematics , physics , statistics
Objective The purpose of this study is to assemble a laser system for the selective removal of dental composite from tooth surfaces, that is feasible for clinical use incorporating a spectral feedback system, a scanning system, articulating arm and a clinical hand‐piece, and evaluate the performance of that system on extracted teeth. Methods Ten extracted teeth were collected and small fillings were placed on the occlusal surface of each tooth. A clinical system featuring a CO 2 laser operating at 50 Hz and spectral optical feedback was used to remove the composite. Removal was confirmed using a cross polarized optical coherence tomography (CP‐OCT) system designed for clinical use. Results The system was capable of rapidly removing composite from small preparations on tooth occlusal surfaces with a mean loss of enamel of less than 20 μm. Conclusion We have demonstrated that spectral feedback can be successfully employed in an automated system for composite removal by incorporating dual photodiodes and a galvanometer controlled CO 2 laser. Additionally, the use of registered OCT images presents as a viable method for volumetric benchmarking. Overall, this study represents the first implementation of spectral feedback into a clinical hand‐piece and serves as a benchmark for a future clinical study. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:658–665, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.