26 May 2009
This latest comparative study examined the residual heat deposition of Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers during ablation of hard dental tissues. Results showed that the amount of unwanted residual heat that remains deposited in the tooth is higher by a factor of 2 for the H mode Er,Cr:YSGG laser and by a factor of 3 larger for the S mode Er,Cr:YSGG laser, compared to the MSP mode Er:YAG laser. The authors claim this partially explains the observed lower ablation efficiency of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser compared to Er:YAG laser found in a previous study. It may even lead to their reduced safety and comfort for patients. For both laser sources, residual heat was larger in enamel than in dentine. Residual heat values were obtained from measured irradiated hard tissue temperature decay characteristics following Erbium laser pulses.
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Previous studies on the ablation performance of Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers in hard dental tissues showed that the Er:YAG laser ablates 3.7 times faster in dentine and 5 times faster in enamel compared to the Er,Cr:YSGG laser.
