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Ultrashort pulsed laser (USPL) application in dentistry: basic investigations of ablation rates and thresholds on oral hard tissue and restorative materials

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Abstract

Modern ultrashort pulse lasers with scanning systems provide a huge set of parameters affecting the suitability for dental applications. The present study investigates thresholds and ablation rates of oral hard tissues and restorative materials with a view towards a clinical application system. The functional system consists of a 10 W Nd:YVO4 laser emitting pulses with a duration of 8 ps at 1,064 nm. Measurements were performed on dentin, enamel, ceramic, composite, and mammoth ivory at a repetition rate of 500 kHz. By employing a scanning system, square-shaped cavities with an edge length of 1 mm were created. Ablation threshold and rate measurements were assessed by variation of the applied fluence. Examinations were carried out employing a scanning electron microscope and optical profilometer. Irradiation time was recorded by the scanner software in order to calculate the overall ablated volume per time. First high power ablation rate measurements were performed employing a laser source with up to 50 W. Threshold values in the range of 0.45 J/cm2 (composite) to 1.54 J/cm2 (enamel) were observed. Differences between any two materials are statistically significant (p < 0.05). Preparation speeds up to 37.53 mm3/min (composite) were achieved with the 10 W laser source and differed statistically significant for any two materials (p < 0.05) with the exception of dentin and mammoth ivory (p > 0.05). By employing the 50 W laser source, increased rates up to ∼50 mm3/min for dentin were obtained. The results indicate that modern USPL systems provide sufficient ablation rates to be seen as a promising technology for dental applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Germany (Grant-No.: 13 N10190) for the financial support. Moreover, we would like to thank Univ.-Prof. Christoph Bourauel and Prof. Helmut Stark for providing the optical profilometer and scanning electron microscope, the staff at our laboratory (Silke van Dyck, Imke Beier, Beate Schiermeyer-Dunkhase) for preparing the samples as well as Dr. Bernd Oehme (Sirona Dental Systems GmbH, Germany) for the inspiring discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Operative and Preventive Dentistry, Bonn University Dental Faculty, Welschnonnenstrasse 17, 53111, Bonn, Germany

    Florian Schelle, Sebastian Polz, Claudia Dehn, Matthias Frentzen & Jörg Meister

  2. Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontology, Marburg University, Marburg, Germany

    Andreas Braun

  3. Department of Application Technology, Lumera Laser GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Hatim Haloui

  4. Department of Conservative Dentistry, Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Jörg Meister

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  1. Florian Schelle
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  2. Sebastian Polz
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  3. Hatim Haloui
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  4. Andreas Braun
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  5. Claudia Dehn
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  6. Matthias Frentzen
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  7. Jörg Meister
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Correspondence to Florian Schelle.

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Schelle, F., Polz, S., Haloui, H. et al. Ultrashort pulsed laser (USPL) application in dentistry: basic investigations of ablation rates and thresholds on oral hard tissue and restorative materials. Lasers Med Sci 29, 1775–1783 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-013-1315-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-013-1315-4

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