Dental material ablation with the Er:YAG laser

It is essential for any laser which will be used in the clinic by dentists to remove existing dental materials for this laser to be a viable replacement of the dental drill. There is however a concern about the thermal damage which a laser can cause due to the heat that is generated by the ablation of these materials. The ablation efficiency of the Er:YAG laser (/spl lambda/=2.94) on dental materials must allow for timely removal of amalgam and composite dental restorations. Here, results of the use of the Er:YAG laser on dental materials are presented. This report concentrates on this ablation and it's thermal effect on dental restorative materials with and without water spray.