title: Efficacy of XeCl 308-nm excimer laser in reducing dye penetration through coronal dentinal tubules.
abstract: The efficacy of XeCl excimer laser irradiation in reducing dye penetration through human coronal dentinal tubules was studied. The roots of 20 freshly extracted human molars were resected, and the apical aspect of the crowns was ground until the pulp chamber was completely exposed. Following total removal of the pulp chamber and further grinding of the occlusal and apical surfaces up to the intact dentin, the teeth were randomly divided into experimental and control groups of 10 each. The teeth in the experimental group were completely coated with nail polish and then irradiated with XeCl 308-nm excimer laser at a fluence of 0.7 J/cm2 to form an elliptical lased area. The teeth in the control group were also coated with nail polish, but with a similar elliptical spot of exposed dentin corresponding to the irradiated spot created in the lased teeth left uncoated. All specimens were placed in 0.5% methylene blue dye for 48 h, rinsed, and air-dried. The specimens were then ground to reach the experimental area in order and photographed. The total area of penetrated dye was determined by three independent evaluators and then measured with a computerized planimeter. The mean total areas (mm2) measured in the lased specimens were significantly smaller than those in the controls (p = 0.012).
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Dentistry, Hebrew University-Hadassah, School of Dental Medicine, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stabholz
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rotstein
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neev
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moshonov
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stabholz
mesh_terms: D003763:Dental Leakage / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003804:Dentin / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003806:Dentin Permeability / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008751:Methylene Blue; D011897:Random Allocation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014978:Xenon
chemical_list: D014978:Xenon; D008751:Methylene Blue