Er:YAG laser: the promising procedure for caries treatment

Abstract

The effectiveness of the Er:YAG laser for caries removal was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. As the in vitro study, thirty-two extracted human teeth with cervical root caries were used. An axially divided half of each caries lesion was treated with the Er:YAG laser, and the other was removed with round steel burs mounted on a micromotor or was left untreated as a control. Laser irradiation was performed in contact and non-contact mode at 145 mJ/pulse (51.3 J/cm<SUP>2</SUP>/pulse) and 10 pps under water spray. Conventional micromotor treatment was performed at 10,000 rpm using some different size of round steel burs. Measurement of time required for caries removal, histological observation of decalcified serial sections, SEM observation and hardness measurement of the cavity floor dentin were conducted with both laser and conventional treatments. In addition to the above in vitro study, the usefulness of root caries treatment with the Er:YAG laser was assessed in vivo as a clinical trial. The results indicated that removal of carious dentin using the Er:YAG laser was completed effectively to the same extent as the conventional treatment and thermal damage of the lased cavity was minimum. The Er:YAG laser treatment diminished unpleasant sound and vibration, when compared with the conventional rotary technique. We conclude that the Er:YAG laser possesses the promising characteristics for caries removal.