Abstract
This study investigates changes in ablation efficiency and surface morphology induced in human dental enamel and dentin upon interaction with femtosecond laser pulses at variable energies and number of laser pulses. Craters were created using a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser ablation system operating at a wavelength of 785 nm, pulse width of 130 fs, and repetition rate of 20 Hz. Various techniques, such as optical and scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), were used to evaluate ablation depth, amount of material ablated, and surface morphology of the craters. Ablation rate (ablation depth per pulse) was found to be lower in enamel than dentin with the maximum rate occurring at fluence of 12.4 J cm−2 in both materials. A drop in ablation rate was observed for fluence greater than 12.4 J cm−2 and was attributed to attenuation of laser energy due to interaction with the laser-generated particles. Above this fluence, signs of thermal effects, such as melting and formation of droplets of molten material at the sample surface, were observed. The response of the ICP-MS indicated that the amount of ablated material removed from dentin is greater than that removed from enamel by a factor of 1.5 or more at all investigated fluence.
Published Version
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