Abstract
Hard dental tissue removal by laser radiation is an alternative treatment to conventional dental-drilling procedures. The advantages of this therapy are fast and localized treatment of hard dental tissue and painlessness.
The most effective systems for those purposes are Er-lasers generating radiation at wavelengths of around 3 mu m. The aim of this study was qualitative and quantitative examination of human dentin and ivory tissue removal by pulsed free-running (FR) and Q-switched (QSW) Er:YAG and Er, Cr:YSGG laser radiations.
From the obtained results it follows that generally Er:YAG laser has lower threshold for the tissue removal in both FR and QSW regimes. Furthermore, the FR Er:YAG and Er, Cr:YSGG radiation can be effective for both dentin and ivory ablation and can prepare smooth cavities without side effects.
The QSW regime is useful preferably for precise ablation of a starting tooth defect and for the part of the tooth very close to the gum. This regime is excellent for micro-preparation or for tooth treatment of children.