Selective Ablation of Dental Caries and Composites

描述（由申请人提供）：这项拟议研究的总体目标是增加我们对高强度激光辐射与牙齿硬组织相互作用的基本理解，并将这些知识应用于基于激光的方法的发展，该方法使用计算机控制的激光束扫描与光学反馈方法相结合的综合方法选择性地去除龋齿和复合修复材料。除了消除噪音和振动与牙科手件，激光提供了几个独特的优势比目前的手术技术，保守的牙科。在适当的照射条件下，激光能够实现更高的精度和选择性，非常适合电子控制，可以在钻孔腔壁中诱导有益的化学和形态变化，从而使组织更能抵抗进一步的蛀牙，并增强对修复材料的粘附性能。本建议的具体目的是验证以下假设：1)使用图像引导激光消融可以以临床相关的速率安全地有选择地从牙齿表面去除龋损；2)使用激光消融结合光谱反馈可以以临床相关的速率安全地有选择地从牙齿表面去除复合材料。这些基础研究将大大提高我们对激光与组织相互作用的整体认识，并促进更安全、更有效的激光系统的发展，用于去除龋齿和修复材料。使用高选择性激光系统去除龋齿和牙科复合材料可能会导致更保守的牙科手术的实践，这将减少健康组织的损失，这通常与传统的腔准备和现有复合修复体的修复有关。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall objective of this proposed research is to increase our fundamental understanding of the interaction of high intensity laser radiation with dental hard tissues and apply that knowledge to the development of laser based methods that selectively remove dental caries and composite restorative materials using an integrated approach of computer-controlled laser beam scanning coupled with optical methods of feedback. In addition to eliminating the noise and vibration associated with the dental hand-piece, lasers offer several unique advantages over current surgical technology for conservative dentistry. Under the appropriate irradiation conditions, lasers are capable of achieving markedly higher precision and selectivity, are well-suited for electronic control, can induce beneficial chemical and morphological changes in the walls of the drilled cavity that can render the tissues more resistant to further dental decay with enhanced adhesive properties to restorative materials. The specific aims of this proposal are to test the following hypotheses: 1) that caries lesions can be safely and selectively removed from tooth surfaces at clinically relevant rates using image guided laser ablation, and 2) that composite can be safely and selectively removed from tooth surfaces at clinically relevant rates using laser ablation in conjunction with spectral feedback. These fundamental studies will significantly advance our overall knowledge of laser-tissue interactions and facilitate the development of safer and more efficient laser systems for the removal of dental caries and restorative materials. The use of highly selective laser systems for the removal of dental caries and dental composites is likely to lead to the practice of more conservative dental procedures that will reduce the amount of healthy tissue loss that is generally associated with conventional cavity preparations and the repair of existing composite restorations.