STOMATOLOGY EDU JOURNAL

CARIOLOGY

The Use of Er:YAG Laser for Dental Caries Removal

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25241/stomaeduj.2021.8(3).art.3

Abstract

Background Carious tissue removal in enamel and dentin requires the use of sharp and resistant instruments. New tools have appeared to optimize/facilitate dental treatment, among them the laser. Regarding laser application for dental caries removal, the use of erbium laser doped with yttrium, aluminum, and garnet (Er:YAG) stands out. The Er:YAG laser is excellent for hard tissues ablation since its wavelength of 2.940nm is highly absorbed by water and hydroxyapatite.
Objective To review the application of the Er:YAG laser in dental caries removal, to present its advantages and limitations in clinical practice, as well as to describe its action mechanism, and to compare its effectiveness with different methods used to remove caries.
Data sources The search for articles to compose this literature review was carried out in the PubMed and Embase databases.
Study selection Articles in English published between 2006 and 2021. The manual search included additional articles and books; a total of 39 references were selected.
Data extraction Information from studies that evaluated the use of the Er:YAG laser to remove caries or related this type of laser to other methods. Articles that evaluated characteristics of the dental structure, or the influence of restorative materials after caries removal with the Er:YAG laser, were also considered.
Study selection Based on studies results, the Er:YAG laser presents itself as an alternative for caries removal since it can remove demineralized tissue (selective ablation) without causing damage to the dental element.

Keywords
Cariology; Dental Caries; Dental Caries Removal; Dentin; Lasers.

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The Stomatology Edu Journal (Stoma Edu J) is one of the first Green Open Access journals in the field of dental medicine, publishing well-established authors, but equally committed to encouraging early career researchers and professionals alike to publish their work after a non-partisan, objective, double-blind rigorous peer-reviewed process. The Stomatology Edu Journal (Stoma Edu J) is a Green Open Access journal accessible for free on the Internet, hence no processing, peer review fees or article publishing charges payable by the author are required. A Green Open Access (GOA) journal means that all content is freely available to the user or his/her institution without charge. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. Our aim is to publish in the shortest possible time frame and ensure the rapid dissemination of your work via our journal page, but also through our indexing partners…(read more)

STATEMENT

STOMATOLOGY EDU JOURNAL (Stoma Edu J) is a new international dental journal whose main purpose is to inform researchers, educators, graduates, postgraduates and practitioners about the latest trends in the field, which followed, would bring immediate and lasting benefits to the patients; and about opinions of the most authorized specialists on what is best in current practice, for the good of both, patient and dentist.
STOMATOLOGY EDU JOURNAL (Stoma Edu J) is a peer-reviewed, open access international dental journal to be database indexed, meant to contribute to the development and completion of the medical training of practitioners as Dr. Greene Vardiman Black stated: “the professional man has no right to be other than a continual student”.
Open access journal, means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.