title: Scanning electron microscopic analysis of diseased and healthy dental hard tissues after Er:YAG laser irradiation: in vitro study.
abstract: The aim of this study was to treat carious lesions, sound dentin, and enamel either with conventional methods or with an Er:YAG laser and to compare the results. Thirty freshly extracted carious human teeth were divided into two groups. In the first group, lesions were treated with burs in a dental handpiece; in the second group, we used the Er:YAG laser with parameters recommended by the manufacturer (Kavo). After treatment, the teeth were prepared for scanning electron microscopic observation. On laser-treated teeth, scaly, flaky, rough surfaces were seen: surfaces were clean with several morphological reliefs that may enhance bonding resin restoration. The Er:YAG laser beam can ablate carious dentin with an energy level of 250 mJ at 2 Hz. Sound dentin can be cut at 300 mJ and 2 Hz; for enamel, 350 mJ and 3 Hz are required. The Er:YAG laser seems to be effective in the treatment of carious lesions and in cavity preparation in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les Tissus Calcifiés et les Biomatériaux, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Armengol
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jean
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rohanizadeh
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamel
mesh_terms: D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy*; D003737:Dental Cavity Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000528:radiation effects; D003804:Dentin / Q000528:radiation effects; D004871:Erbium; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D007834:Lasers; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013499:Surface Properties / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D004871:Erbium