A feasibiliy study of dye-enhanced laser ablation of dental enamel /
Dental research involving lasers began in 1964 with the
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1994.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Dental research involving lasers began in 1964 with the application of the ruby laser on hard dental tissue. Since then, various lasers have been studied as possible alternatives to the conventional drill in selected procedures. However, the most success with dental lasers has occurred in the soft tissue area. Several soft tissue lasers currently have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for clinical use. Dental hard tissue applications have not had the success originally expected after the onset of the ruby laser experiments. This study shows the feasibility of drilling tooth enamel with a unique combination of a dye and a laser (alexandrite) in the visible to near IR range. The dye acts as a photoabsorber, enhancing the absorptive characteristics of tooth enamel at the wavelength of the chosen alexandrite laser. Mechanical and physical properties were used as a measure of feasibility. The data indicate that this "optical drilling" with the laser-dye combination is definitely feasible, with results similar to that of the conventional dental drill. The results from this study indicate that future testing of this dye-laser combination for tooth drilling is both necessary and important in the development of a dye-laser handpiece for the clinician's office. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major subject: Bioengineering". |
| Physical Description: | xi, 94 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |