Work

Selective removal of dental composite with a diode-pumped Er:YAG laser

Year: 2016

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Selective removal of dental calculus with high precision is best accomplished using lasers operating at high pulse repetition rates focused to a small spot size to limit damage to sound tissues. Conventional flash-lamp pumped Er:YAG lasers are poorly suited for this purpose, but new diode-pumped solid state (DPSS) Er:YAG lasers have become available operating at high pulse repetition rates. The purpose of this study was to determine if image-guided laser ablation can be used to selectively remove calculus from tooth surfaces with minimal damage to the underlying sound cementum and dentin. A DPSS Er:YAG laser system was used to selectively remove calculus from ten extracted teeth using sequential SWIR images at 1500-1750-nm. The selectivity of removal was assessed using digital microscopy and optical coherence tomography. Calculus was removed with minimal damage to the underlying sound cementum and dentin.

Source: Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

DOI: 10.1117/12.2218645

Authors: William A. Fried, Kenneth H. Chan, Cynthia L. Darling, Daniel Fried

Institution: University of California, San Francisco

Language: English

Topic: Laser Applications in Dentistry and Medicine

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research