Lasers and hard-tissue interactions

The hard tissue laser ablation and the relevant laser applications on dental tissues have attracted several investigators, since the ablation efficiency, the lateral thermal and/or mechanical damage and the final surface characteristics must be optimised, in order to fulfil the efficient and safe removal of pathological dental areas in a clinical environment. For example, it was theoretically predicted that the lateral tissue thermal damage might be limited when the laser intensity is high and the interaction time is short. In this case the Q-switched Er:YAG laser operating with a pulse length below the thermal relaxation time of the irradiated tissue, is considered to be very effective. Therefore, the efficacy of the Q-switched Er:YAG laser, versus the free-running operation mode, on dentine ablation was studied, as well as the morphological changes at the irradiated dentine surface. Additionally, the interaction of nanosecond UV laser pulses and IR/visible picosecond laser pulses with hard tissue samples was investigated for comparative evaluation of the different laser ablation mechanisms.