Cavity preparation for metal inlay by experimental tip for Er:YAG laser

摘要

The dental EnYAG laser which is mainly used for dental hard tissue cutting was recently developed. In restorative dentistry, this laser has usually been used in composite resin restoration, but not for cast metal inlay restoration. This is because it is difficult to make the cavity form, such as retention form and convenience form, by using laser irradiation. At the 6th ISLD meeting, we reported an experimental chisel-shaped contact tip (ECSC tip) for use in cavity preparation for cast metal inlays. In this study, we examine a newly developed, modified experimental tip in inlay cavity preparation using an Erwin (ML22:HOYA & MORITA). This tip is composed of an arrangement of seven optical fibers having 0.2 or 0.3 mm diameter in a single row. The tooth-cutting efficacy of this tip was examined using extracted human and bovine teeth, and the irradiated sites were observed with SEM. The cutting efficacy of the experimental tip for both enamel and dentin was better than that of the ECSC tip. However, the surfaceflatness after cutting using experimental tip was poorer than the of the ECSC tip. It is suggested that inlay cavity preparation is possible using Erwin with this tip.