The goal of this study was to evaluate the dynamic process of water-mediated hard dental tissue ablation induced by Ho:YAG laser with high-speed camera. Human molars in vitro of yellow race were cut into tooth sections and irradiated with pulsed Ho:YAG laser with a wavelength of 2.08μm. The pulse repetition rate was 3 Hz and laser energy ranged from 300 to 2000 mJ. The frame rate of high-speed camera used in the experiment was 50525 fps. Based on the observation by high-speed camera, the dynamic process of the oscillating cavitation bubble and water-mediated ablation induced by Ho:YAG laser was efficiently recorded and graphically described. The pulsation period, the maximum length and width of vapor channel increased with laser energy. The results showed that the external water played multiple roles in laser ablation of hard dental tissue, not only acting as a channel to transmit laser energy, but also helping to improve the regularity of the ablation shape.

Date Published: 5 March 2015
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9321, Optical Interactions with Tissue and Cells XXVI, 932110 (5 March 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2077042

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9321:
Optical Interactions with Tissue and Cells XXVI
E. Duco Jansen, Editor(s)