Irradiation of dental enamel with Q-switched lambda = 355-nm laser pulses: surface morphology, fluoride adsorption, and adhesion to composite resin.

Background And Objectives: Lasers can be used to modify the chemical composition of dental enamel to increase the bond strength to restorative materials and to render the mineral phase more resistant to acid dissolution. Previous studies have suggested a synergistic relationship between CO(2) laser irradiation and fluoride treatment on increased resistance to acid dissolution. In this study a near-UV laser operating with lambda = 355-nm laser pulses of 3-5 nanoseconds duration was used to modify the surface morphology of dental enamel to increase the bond strength to restorative materials and increase the uptake of topical fluoride to render the surface more resistant to acid dissolution. We hypothesize that the short UV laser pulses are primarily absorbed by protein and lipid localized between the enamel prisms resulting in removal of intact mineral effectively etching the surface without thermal modification of the mineral phase. Such modification is likely to increase the permeability of the enamel surface and the subsequent absorption of fluoride. In addition, there is an increase in surface roughness without the formation of a layer of loosely adherent, thermally modified enamel that increases the bond strength to composite restorative materials.

Study Design/materials And Methods: The surfaces of blocks of bovine enamel, 5 x 5 mm(2), were uniformly irradiated by 355-nm laser pulses and subsequently bonded to composite. The shear bond test was used to assess the bond strength of non-irradiated blocks (negative control), acid etched blocks (positive control), and laser irradiated blocks. The resistance to acid dissolution was evaluated using controlled surface dissolution experiments on irradiated samples, irradiated samples exposed to topical fluoride, and non-irradiated control samples with and without fluoride.

Results: The laser surface treatments significantly increased the shear-bond strength of enamel to composite, to a level exceeding 20 MPa which was significantly more than the non-irradiated control samples and significantly less than the acid etch. Laser irradiation alone and topical fluoride application alone did not significantly increase the resistance to acid dissolution. The laser treatment followed by topical application of fluoride significantly increased the resistance to acid dissolution to a level of over 50% versus the control samples.

Conclusions: We present a novel method for increasing bond strength to restorative materials and enhancing fluoride delivery to enamel surfaces and shed some light on the underlying mechanisms of caries inhibition via laser treatment and topical application of fluoride.