Etching with the Er: YAG laser

Abstract

We evaluated the effect of irradiating tooth enamel using an Er: YAG laser with a wavelength of about 3μm to find its ability to etch enamel for resin bonding. Scanning electron microscopy and tensile bond strength test clearly showed the etching effect of Er: YAG laser irradiation. At an energy concentration or 8.5J/cm^2, the tensile bond strength was 139.7kg/cm^2, which was somewhat greater than the 118.9kg/cm^2 for acid-etched enamel. SEM images of the laser-etched enamel were very similar to those for acid etching.