Bactericidal applications of Low Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Plasma in dental care

摘要

The atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) has been proved with great effectiveness in killing micro-organisms, and this makes it potential use in various biological and medical applications such as sterilization of medical devices, decontamination of biomaterials, and even enhancement of wound healing. Recently, some researchers investigated APP effects in dental care, such as tooth whitening and tooth plague ablation. Bondings between dentin and cavity filling materials, or between implants and dental pulp cells, were greatly enhanced by APP surface treatments. Otherwise, plasma stripping technology, usually applied in semiconductor processing, was further improved to be utilized in tooth surface bleaching. The bleaching effects of this novel low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma (LT-APP) on dental whitening have been proved and patented