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

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.

• Authors: William A Fried, Kenneth H Chan, Cynthia L Darling, Daniel Fried
• Journal: Proceedings of SPIE--the International Society for Optical Engineering (Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng) Vol. 10857 (Feb 2019) ISSN: 0277-786X [Print] United States
• PMID: 31000908 (Publication Type: Journal Article)