Abstract
The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical usefulness of the Er: YAG laser for class V cavity preparation. A clinical evaluation using an Er: YAG laser (Erwin, Morita Co., Japan) was carried out on 708 subjects (1068 permanent teeth), aged between 7 and 92 years, having indications for dental caries or a wedge-shaped defect. Class V cavity preparation was carried out in all the teeth. In each tooth, tha cavity margin was beveled using the laser. The condition of laser irradiation was 70mJ/pulse to 200mJ/pulse, with a pulse repetition rate of 10 pps. The cavities prepared using the Er: YAG laser were restored with light-cured composite resin, following application of a bonding agent, but without acid etching by phosphoric acid or primer application. Most of the patients received no local anesthesia during the cavity preparation. After one year of observation, it was noted that only 13 composite resin restorations had fallen out of the cavities, (1.2% of the whole sample), out of which only one had shown secondary dental caries. The rest of the teeth showed no discoloration, no cracking of tooth substance, and no marginal breakdown. Therefore, the results of our study indicate that Er: YAG laser treatment may be effective for Class V cavity preparation with composite resin restoration without acid etching or primer application.
