Erbium:YAG (2.94 mum) laser effects on dental tissues

Past trials with soft and calcified tissues have demonstrated that long pulse train (2.5 mus) Er:YAG (2.94 mum) laser may be used to ablate tooth structure of human teeth. Determination of physical and thermal damage to surrounding tissue during removal of enamel and dentin is a primary objective of this study. Extracted human teeth with thermal probes imbedded in the pulp chambers were submitted to cavity preparation using an Erbium YAG laser with water mist. Wavelength selection as well as use of a water mist during the procedure resulted in efficient tissue removal without significant surrounding damage. Ground sections and SEM sections of teeth showed little or no melting or ash formation in adjacent dentin and enamel and no visible change in the pulp chamber. The surfaces produced by laser ablation were rough and irregular with craters and grooves. Average temperature change in the pulp chamber monitored during tooth preparation was 2.2 degrees Centigrade. These findings suggest that constantly available water aids vaporization and microexplosions, increasing the efficiency of tooth structure removal, and aids in cooling of the tooth structures. The long pulse Er:YAG (2.94 mum) laser may be an effective method for tooth reduction applications when used with a water mist.     

Effect of Er:YAG laser energy on the morphology of enamel/adhesive system interface

The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the influence of Er:YAG laser energy variation to cavity preparation on the morphology of enamel/adhesive system interface, using SEM. Eighteen molars were used and the buccal surfaces were flattened without dentine exposure. The specimens were randomly assigned to two groups, according to the adhesive system (conventional total-etching or self-etching), and each group was divided into three subgroups (bur carbide in turbine of high rotation, Er:YAG laser 250 mJ/4 Hz and Er:YAG laser 300 mJ/4 Hz) containing six teeth each. The enamel/adhesive system interface was serially sectioned and prepared for SEM. The Er:YAG laser, in general, produced a more irregular adhesive interface than the control group. For Er:YAG laser 250 mJ there was formation of a more regular hybrid layer with good tag formation, mainly in the total-etching system. However, Er:YAG laser 300 mJ showed a more irregular interface with amorphous enamel and fused areas, for both adhesive systems. It was concluded that cavity preparation with Er:YAG laser influenced on the morphology of enamel/adhesive system interface and the tissual alterations were more evident when the energy was increased.     

A method for rapid measurement of laser ablation rate of hard dental tissue

The aim of the study reported here is the development of a new method which allows rapid and accurate in-vitro measurements of three-dimensional (3D) shape of laser ablated craters in hard dental tissues and the determination of crater volume, ablation rate and speed. The method is based on the optical triangulation principle. A laser sheet projector illuminates the surface of a tooth, mounted on a linear translation stage. As the tooth is moved by the translation stage a fast digital video camera captures series of images of the illuminated surface. The images are analyzed to determine a 3D model of the surface. Custom software is employed to analyze the 3D model and to determine the volume of the ablated craters. Key characteristics of the method are discussed as well as some practical aspects pertinent to its use. The method has been employed in an in-vitro study to examine the ablation rates and speeds of the two main laser types currently employed in dentistry, Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG. Ten samples of extracted human molar teeth were irradiated with laser pulse energies from 80 mJ to the maximum available energy (970 mJ with the Er:YAG, and 260 mJ with the Er,Cr:YSGG). About 2000 images of each ablated tooth surface have been acquired along a translation range of 10 mm, taking about 10 s and providing close to 1 million surface measurement points. Volumes of 170 ablated craters (half of them in dentine and the other half in enamel) were determined from this data and used to examine the ablated volume per pulse energy and ablation speed. The results show that, under the same conditions, the ablated volume per pulse energy achieved by the Er:YAG laser exceeds that of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser in almost all regimes for dentine and enamel. The maximum Er:YAG laser ablation speeds (1.2 mm³/s in dentine and 0.7 mm³/s in enamel) exceed those obtained by the Er,Cr:YSGG laser (0.39 mm³/s in dentine and 0.12 mm³/s in enamel). Since the presented method proves to be easy to use and allows quite rapid measurements it may become a valuable tool to study the influence of various laser parameters on the outcome of laser ablation of dental tissues.     

Absorption and thermal study of dental enamel when irradiated with Nd:YAG laser with the aim of caries prevention

It is widely recognized that Nd:YAG can increase enamel resistance to demineralization; however, the safe parameters and conditions that enable the application of Nd:YAG laser irradiation in vivo are still unknown. The aim of this study was to determine a dye as a photoabsorber for Nd:YAG laser and to verify in vitro a safe condition of Nd:YAG irradiation for caries prevention. Fifty-eight human teeth were selected. In a first morphological study, four dyes (waterproof India ink., iron oxide, caries indicator and coal paste) were tested before Nd:YAG laser irradiation, under two different irradiation conditions: 60 mJ/pulse and 10 Hz (84.9 J/cm²); 80 mJ/pulse and 10 Hz (113.1 J/cm²). In a second study, the enamel surface and pulp chamber temperatures were evaluated during laser irradiations. All dyes produced enamel surface melting, with the exception of the caries indicator, and coal paste was the only dye that could be completely removed. All irradiation conditions produced temperature increases of up to 615.08°C on the enamel surface. Nd:YAG laser irradiation at 60 mJ/pulse, 10 Hz and 84.9 J/cm² promoted no harmful temperature increase in the pulp chamber (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Among all dyes tested, the coal paste was an efficient photoabsorber for Nd:YAG irradiation, considered feasible for clinical practice. Nd:YAG laser at 84.9 J/cm² can be indicated as a safe parameter for use in caries prevention.     

Influence of Er:YAG laser on surface treatment of aged composite resin to repair restoration

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Er:YAG laser on surface treatment to the bond strength of repaired composite resin after aged. Sixty specimens (n = 10) were made with composite resin (Z250, 3M) and thermocycled with 500 cycles, oscillating between 5 to 55°C. The specimens were randomly separated in six groups which suffered the following superficial treatments: no treatment (GI, control), wearing with diamond bur (GII), sandblasted with aluminum oxide with 27.5 μm particles (GIII) for 10 s, 200 mJ Er:YAG laser (GIV), 300 mJ Er:YAG laser (GV), and 400 mJ Er:YAG laser (GVI), with the last 3 groups under a 10 Hz frequency for 10 s. Restoration repair was done using the same composite. The shear test was done into the Universal testing machine MTS-810. Analyzing the results through ANOVA and Tukey test, no significant differences were found (p-value is 0.5120). Average values analysis showed that superficial treatment with aluminum oxide presented the highest resistance to shear repair interface (8.91MPa) while 400 mJ Er:YAG laser presented the lowest (6.76 MPa). Fracture types analysis revealed that 90% suffered cohesive fractures to GIII. The Er:YAG laser used as superficial treatment of the aged composite resin before the repair showed similar results when used diamond bur and sandblasting with aluminum oxide particles.     

Q-switched Er:YAG lasers resonantly pumped by Erbium fiber laser

The study describes efficient, acousto-optic Q-switching of Er:YAG laser at the 1645 nm eye-safe wavelength. For longitudinal pumping at wavelength 1532 nm, linear-polarized 10 W Erbium fiber laser radiation was used. The investigated Er:YAG crystals were 25 and 40 mm long and their Erbium concentration was 0.20 and 0.25%, respectively. For giant pulse generation, a fused silica acousto-optic modulator was inserted inside the Er:YAG laser oscillator. For a maximum incident pump power of 7.95 W, pulse energy up to 4.1 mJ was generated with pulse duration 34 ns at 500-Hz repetition rate; the corresponding peak power was 119 kW.     

Plasma-mediated ablation of brain tissue with picosecond laser pulses

Plasma-mediated ablations of brain tissue have been performed using picosecond laser pulses obtained from a Nd:YLF oscillator/regenerative amplifier system. The laser pulses had a pulse duration of 35 ps at a wavelength of 1.053 µm. The pulse energy varied from 90 µJ to 550 µJ at a repetition rate of 400 Hz. The energy density at the ablation threshold was measured to be 20 J/cm². Comparisons have been made to 19 ps laser pulses at 1.68 µm and 2.92 µm from an OPG/OPA system and to microsecond pulse trains at 2.94 µm from a free running Er:YAG laser. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were performed to judge the depth and the quality of the ablated cavities. No thermal damage was induced by either of the picosecond laser systems. The Er:YAG laser, on the other hand, showed 20 µm wide lateral damage zones due to the longer pulse durations and the higher pulse energies.     

Raman and IR reflection micro‐spectroscopic study of Er:YAG laser treated permanent and deciduous human teeth

Permanent and deciduous human teeth treated by a dental Er‐doped yttrium‐aluminium‐garnet pulse laser (λ = 2940 nm) as well as by classical drilling tools under conditions typical of the clinical practice were studied by ultraviolet Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) reflection microspectroscopy. Enamel was analyzed by both spectroscopic methods, whereas dentine was studied only by FTIR reflection because of the high level of photoluminescence continuum background even when a wavelength of 325 nm was used in inelastic light scattering experiments. The applied energy and pulse frequency of the dental laser varied between 200 and 500 mJ and between 10 and 30 Hz, respectively. The most important result is that after the laser treatment, the hydroxyapatite structure in both permanent and deciduous enamel is preserved: the apatite Ca‐P‐O framework remains intact, and the content of channel OH^‐ groups is not changed within experimental uncertainties. The calcium‐phosphate framework of dentine also exhibits negligible laser‐induced changes. The only alterations in enamel induced by laser as well as by mechanical drilling are reduction of the amount of CO₃^2‐ in apatite and changes in the protein conformation. The laser impact on the organic material and carbonate groups is strongest for laser power of 8 W; for powers of 4 or 5 W, the combination of higher pulse energy and lower pulse frequency has less impact than the combination of lower energy and higher frequency. No differences between deciduous and permanent teeth in their resistivity to laser irradiation with λ = 2940 nm were detected. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hard tissue ablation with a free running Er:YAG and a Q-switched CO2 laser: a comparative study

The Er:YAG and the CO₂ laser are competitors in the field of hard tissue ablation. The use of Er:YAG lasers (2.94 μm, pulse length _L of 100 to 200 μs) show smaller areas of thermal defects then ‘‘superpulsed’’ CO₂ lasers with pulse lengths of approximately 100 μs. Only the development of a Q-switched CO₂ laser (9.6 μm, τ_L=250 ns) allowed for similar results. In this paper new results for the Er:YAG and the Q-switched CO₂ laser under the influence of water spray will be presented. Several parameters are of special interest for these investigations: the specific ablation energy, which shows a minimum for the CO₂ laser at an energy density of 9 J/cm ² and a broad shallow minimum in the range of 10 to 70 J/cm² for the Er:YAG laser, and comparison of the cut-shape and depth. Surface effects and cutting velocity are discussed based on SEM pictures. Received: 19 July 2000 / Revised version: 1 November 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000     

Dentinal surface-cutting efficiency using a high-speed diamond bur,ultrasound and laser

We compare an ultrasound bur with a conventional one and an Er:YAG laser for cavity preparations. Human molars were embedded in resin and sliced for this study. The surface abrasion was performed by a high-speed instrument and ultrasound. The cavity preparation was initially performed with a high-speed diamond bur. After this, a 2.94-μm laser with 400 mJ/pulse at 4 Hz, and a pulse width from 250–500 μs was applied to the tooth surface for 30 s in a sweeping motion. The samples were analyzed by SEM. The abrasion surface with a conventional bur showed structure removal with different grooves, a smear-layer presence, and occluded dentinal tubules. The abraded surface with the CVD bur suggested a removal process in layers. The laser-irradiated surface showed a rough aspect with opened tubules and the absence of a smear layer. The results of this study suggest that a high-speed diamond bur, ultrasound, and laser were able to perform cavity preparation. However, the CVD bur presented a higher surface quality.     

Voltage-on-Type RTP Pockels Cell for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Q</Emphasis>-switch of an Er:YAG Laser at 1,617 nm

We report a resonantly diode-pumped electro-optic Q-switched Er:YAG laser operating at 1,617 nm using a voltage-on-type rubidium titanyl phosphate (RTP) Pockels cell as the modulator. The Er:YAG laser operates at a very stable Q-switching mode with a per pulse energy yield of 1.5 mJ and a pulse duration of 114 ns at 1 kHz PRF under an incident pump power of 21.6 W.     

Laser irradiation effects on gold

Investigations on the laser irradiation effects on gold are explored in terms of plasma-plume dynamics and morphological and crystallographic changes. Annealed 4N gold samples were irradiated with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (53 mJ, 21 MW, 532 nm, and pulse width 6–8 ns) for plume dynamics using 10-ns gated fast photography. A Q-switched pulsed Nd:YAG laser (10 mJ, 1.1 MW, 1064 nm, and pulse width 9 ns) was used to irradiate the surface of the samples for morphological and crystallographic studies of laser-irradiated gold in a vacuum ～10^?3 Torr. The annealed samples were exposed to 50 shots of a Nd:YAG laser (10 mJ, 1.1 MW, 1064 nm, and pulse width 9 ns). The investigation on the plume was done by using an intensified charged-couple device ICCD-5760/IR-UV camera. The morphological investigation of the irradiated surface was carried out by analyzing micrographs obtained using an Hitachi S 3000 H scanning-electron microscope (SEM). The crystallographic studies of the irradiated samples were performed by analyzing the XRD patterns obtained using an X’ Pert Pro Pan Analytical X-ray diffractometer. The investigation on gated ICCD images of the plume reveal that, at very earlier times, the plasma-plume expansion has a linear trend, whereas, at later times, the plasma-plume expansion is nonuniform. SEM micrographs exhibit the primary mechanisms of pulsed-laser ablation (PLA), such as hydrodynamic sputtering, thermal sputtering, exfoliation sputtering, and splashing. The surface morphology was explained in terms of crater formation, swelling, burning, nucleation, grain growth, and nonsymmetric heat conduction. The nonuniform thermal expansion of gold due to thermal-energy transfer is also studied by SEM micrographs, which was supported by XRD analysis. The structural analysis on the basis of XRD shows that the composition of the irradiated samples is not disturbed even after laser irradiation. The grain sizes also changed due to laser irradiation.     

Free-running and Q-switched operation of a diode pumped Er:YSGG laser at the 3 μm transition

A study is made of a diode pumped Er³⁺:YSGG laser crystal operating at 2.797 μm. Lasers were constructed in the bounce geometry, using a transversely cooled 50 at.% Er:YSGG slab and a face-cooled 38 at.% Er:YSGG slab. Results from these are compared with those from a 50 at.% Er³⁺:YAG laser, also in the bounce geometry. With quasi-continuous wave diode pumping, free-running pulse energies of up to ~55 mJ and a slope efficiency of 20.5% are obtained from 50 at.% Er:YSGG. Better thermal performance is obtained from the face-cooled 38 at.% Er:YSGG slab, allowing average power of ~2 W to be obtained at a repetition rate and pump pulse duration of 140 Hz and 500 μs, respectively. Both Er:YSGG systems perform better than Er:YAG. Numerical modelling of the free-running 50 at.% Er:YSGG and Er:YAG systems is undertaken with good qualitative agreement with experimental results. Electro-optic Q-switching of the 50 at.% Er:YSGG laser using a LiNbO₃ crystal yields ~0.5 mJ pulses with ~77 ns duration.     

1.6 μm Er:YAP and Er:YAG lasers resonantly pumped by Er:glass laser

1623 nm Er:YAP and 1648 nm Er:YAG lasers resonantly pumped by a solid state Er:glass laser operating at 1535 nm were investigated. Laser generation was reached for Er:YAP and two Er:YAG crystals with different Er ion concentration. The maximal output energies were 20 and 45 mJ for Er:YAP and Er:YAG laser systems, respectively.     

Efficient electrooptically Q-switched Er:Cr:YSGG laser oscillator-amplifier system with a Glan-Taylor prism polarizer

A relatively simple efficient electrooptically Q-switched Er:Cr:YSGG laser oscillator-amplifier system in a line has been demonstrated. A Glan-Taylor prism and a cubic LiNbO₃ crystal are used as the polarizer and modulator, respectively. Using the line scheme, one can adjust the system elements easily and achieve a good Q-switched-to-free-running pulse energy ratio of 75% and an energy amplification coefficient of 1.8. As short as 80 ns of the leading edge of a stable single pulse and 132 ns in FWHM with an energy of 24.5 mJ are generated. We also investigate the effects of the pump energy and the delay time on the postlasing, the stable single-pulse operation, the prelasing, the laser buildup time, and the Q-switched pulse width. The laser system demonstrated can be used for the effective ablation of soft and hard tissues.     

High-energy directly diode-pumped Q-switched 1617 nm Er:YAG laser at room temperature

We describe high-energy Erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) lasers operating at 1617?nm, resonantly pumped using 1532?nm fiber-coupled laser diodes. A maximum continuous wave output power of 4.3?W at 1617?nm was achieved with an output coupler of 20% transmission under incident pump power of 29.7?W, resulting in an optical conversion of 14% with respect to the incident pump power. In Q-switched operation, the pulse energy of 11.8?mJ at 100?Hz pulse repetition frequency and 81?ns pulse duration was obtained. This energy is the highest pulse energy reported for a directly diode-pumped Q-switched Er:YAG laser operating at 1617?nm.     

高重频2.94 μm Er:YAG激光器的研究

分析了Er3+离子的能级结构特性和Er:YAG四能级系统的激光速率方程。采用了双灯,双椭圆腔和窄脉冲放电等方式提高了抽运效率; 通过提高激光谐振腔的反射率,降低阈值,从而实现了输出2.94 μm的高重频窄脉冲激光; 采用高压高速层流冷却技术降低了热效应的影响。Er3+:YAG激光器的重复频率为40 Hz,单脉冲输出能量为0.5 J,满足实际应用需要。     

Measurement of Er:YAG laser ablation plume dynamics

The dynamics of tissue ablation using an Er:YAG laser were studied using flash photography and optical pump-probe techniques. Both normal-spiking-mode and Q-switched Er:YAG laser radiation were used to study the ablation of skin and bone. Time-resolved photographs of the ablation plume were obtained using a microscope-mounted camera together with pulsed illumination from an excimer-pumped dye laser. The velocity of the plume front, obtained from the photographs, was approximately 1400 m/s. The same velocity was also measured using an optical pump-probe technique. Both techniques indicate that material removal occurred after the end of the 90-ns-long Q-switched laser pulse and that each micropulse in the normal-spiking-mode pulse train was capable of ablating and rapidly ejecting tissue.This work was supported in part by the SDIO-MFEL Program under contract # N00014-86-K-0117 and by the Arthur O. and Gullan M. Wellman Foundation     

1645 nm Q-Switched resonantly pumped Er:YAG laser

A resonantly pumped Q-switched Er:YAG laser at 1645 nm was reported. 1 mJ of output pulse energy was achieved for Q-switched operation at 100 Hz repetition rate under total incident pump power of 4 W. An output peak power of 14 kW and pulse width of 60.6 ns were obtained.     

Hundred mJ, sub-picoseconds, high temporal contrast OPCPA/Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk hybrid laser system

The authors have demonstrated an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA)/Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk hybrid laser system having hundred mJ level pulse energy sub-picosecond pulse duration with high temporal contrast. At an input chirped-pulse energy of 3.8?mJ from an OPCPA preamplifier an output energy of 130?mJ has been generated from multipass diode-pumped Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk amplifier. A recompressed pulse duration of 450?fs with a contrast level of less than 7.2×10^?9 at ?150?ps before the main pulse has been obtained. The contrast level is the highest value achieved in Yb:YAG chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system at 100?mJ level.