Abstract
Since the development of the ruby laser by Maiman in 1960, there has been great interest among dental practitioners, scientists, and patients to use this tool to make dental treatment more pleasant. Oral soft tissue uses are becoming more common in dental offices. The possible multiple uses of lasers in dentistry, beyond soft tissue surgery and dental composite curing, unfortunately, have not yet been realized clinically. These include replacement of the dental drill with a laser, laser dental decay prevention, and laser decay detection. The essential question is whether a laser can provide equal or improved treatment over conventional care. Safe use of lasers also must be the underlying goal of proposed or future laser therapy. With the availability and future development of different laser wavelengths and methods of pulsing, much interest is developing in this growing field. This article reviews the role of lasers in dentistry since the early 1960s, summarizes some research reports from the last few years, and proposes what the authors feel the future may hold for lasers in dentistry. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 103-133 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Journal | Lasers in Surgery and Medicine |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1995 |
Funding
In an attempt to synthesize available information on temporomandibular disorders from the United States and abroad, the National Institute for Dental Research, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the Office of Research on Women’s Health, and the Food and Drug Administration sponsored the International Workshop on Temporomandibular Disorders and Related Pain Conditions in 1994. This book contains the papers presented, classified into the categories of muscle pain and physiology, temporomandibular joint disc displacement, degenerative and inflammatory temporomandibular joint disorders, diagnosis and assessment of temporomandibular disorders, epidemiology and health services research, temporomandibular joint structure, function and repair, therapeutic approaches, and biostatistical commentary and research recommendations. Reaction papers on the various reports add to the value of the information presented.
Keywords
- ablation
- dental decay prevention
- laser dentistry
- laser welding
- optical properties
- safety
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Dermatology
- Surgery