Study on Use of Blue-violet Laser Diode Module as Dental/Oral Surgical Device

摘要

Laser has been used widely in surgical treatment of oral tissues that are easy to bleed, because of its ability to incise tissues with hemostasis. Among different kinds of dental lasers, CO_2 laser and near-infrared diode laser are especially widely used. CO_2 laser beam is highly absorbed by water and therefore is able to efficiently incise soft tissues that contain much water. On the other hand, near-infrared diode laser features compactness and ease of use. In recent years, violet laser diode has been developed and practically used as the light source of next-generation DVD systems. The authors focused attention on violet laser diode's oscillating wavelength (405 nm), which is around the peak of the absorption spectrum of hemoglobin, and has developed a violet laser diode module for use in dental and oral surgeries. The experiments confirmed that this module provides efficient tissue incision performance and faster healing equivalent to that of CO_2 laser. It was also confirmed that the module is suitable for use in teeth bleaching and killing of periodontopathic bacteria. From these experiment results, the authors expect that the violet laser diode module will be used as a next-generation multifunctional dental laser. This paper reports on the study of the application of violet laser diode module to dental/oral treatment.