Effect of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser on surface acoustic wave velocity of human dental enamel

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Nd:YAG laser irradiation on the phase velocity of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) of human enamel. A pulsed Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm wavelength was used to irradiate the human enamel from extracted human premolars. The output power and repetition rate were 250 mJ and 5 Hz, respectively. The SAW phase velocities before and after laser irradiation were determined using a laser photoacoustic method. The laser-treated enamel surface exhibited a higher velocity value for frequencies higher than 3 MHz. The result of this study suggests that there is an important correlation between the elastic properties of human enamel and the pulsed Nd:YAG laser fluence, which increases the SAW phase velocity, and this may help shed some light on the mechanism of laser treatment in dental research.

Laser photoacoustic technique for ultrasonic surface acoustic wave velocity evaluation on porcelain

“…Among the most popular methods, there is little or no one using photoacoustic techniques. Due to their flexibility, simplicity and maneuverability, photoacoustic techniques have been widely used in nondestructive evaluation [12][13][14].…”