Effect of the CO2 laser (9.6um) on the dental pulp in humans

Harvey A. Wigdor D.D.S.; Joseph T. Walsh Jr.; Reza Mostafi

doi:10.1117/12.380822

24 March 2000 Effect of the CO₂ laser (9.6μm) on the dental pulp in humans

Harvey A. Wigdor D.D.S., Joseph T. Walsh Jr., Reza Mostafi

Proceedings Volume 3910, Lasers in Dentistry VI; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.380822
Event: BiOS 2000 The International Symposium on Biomedical Optics, 2000, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

There has been great interest in the potential use of a laser to replace the dental handpiece (drill). Ideally a laser emitting radiation that is absorbed strongly by both the water and hydroxyapatite in teeth, would be a more efficient laser. Previous investigators showed that the 9.3 and 9.6 micron wavelength bands of the CO₂ laser contain hydroxyapatite absorption peaks. For this study, human patients who were to have teeth removed for either orthodontic or periodontal reasons were used. A total of 16 teeth were irradiated. The number of teeth treated per patient varied from 1 - 4. The laser used was a prototype CO₂ laser (ESC Medical Systems, Yokneam, Israel). The CO₂ laser emits 50 mJ 60 microsecond-long pulses of 9.6 micrometer radiation in a beam focused to a 300 micrometer diameter (i/e²) spot. The pulps in both the laser and handpiece prepared holes appeared similar and had no apparent inflammation or vascular changes. It appears from this small sample of laser treated human teeth that this laser has an equal effect to the dental pulpal tissue when compared to the dental handpiece.

Citation Download Citation

Harvey A. Wigdor D.D.S., Joseph T. Walsh Jr., and Reza Mostafi "Effect of the CO₂ laser (9.6μm) on the dental pulp in humans", Proc. SPIE 3910, Lasers in Dentistry VI, (24 March 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.380822

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