Laser Ultrasound Characterization of Normal and Decayed Teeth by Measuring Elastic Properties of Surface Layers

摘要

We firstly investigate the mechanic and acoustic properties of human teeth by using the laser generation of surface acoustic wave (SAW) technique. The materials investigated included normal and decayed teeth, which have the same grain size and different thickness, are used as the samples. The tissue responds to the laser-induced stress by thermoelastic expansion. We can obtain the shape of acoustic pulse and the phase velocity was determined for the teeth system and extract information on the teeth thickness, density, and transverse sound velocity that could be used as diagnostic parameters.