AN EFFECT OF Nd : VAG LASER IRRADIATION ON THE MICROHARDNESS OF ROOT SURFACE

Nd : YAG layer 조사가 치근면의 미세경도에 미치는 영향

Root caries is very frequently developed on exposed root surface after periodontal surgical treatment. In order to determine the anti-caries effect of Nd : YAG laser irradiation on periodontally exposed root surface, 40 mandibular molar teeth that had been extracted due to excessive periodontal destruction were used as the experimental teeth. All teeth were treated by the same procedure as conventional periodontal root treatment, ie thorough scaling, root planing and root conditioning with tetracycline HCl(100mg/ml, 5min.). Within middle one third of root, mesial half surface(20) or distal half surface(20) was randomly irradiated at various power of 1.0W, 2.0W, 3.0W and 4.0W for 60 seconds by non-contact(5mm) delivery of a pulsed Nd : YAG laser(EN.EL.EN060, Italy). The microhardness was measured by Vikers microhardness tester(Wilson, USA) at 2mm/second of jog speed under 100gm load. The difference of microhardness between irradiated side and non-irradiated side was statistically analyzed ANOVA and Duncan's method. Following results were obtained ; 1. The microhardness(Knoop hardness number) was significantly higher in laser irradiated surface than non-irradiated surface(p<0.05). 2. There was no significant difference in microhardness between experimental groups classified by different laser power(p>0.1). The results suggest that Nd : YAG laser irradiation on exposed root suface after periodontal therapy may inhibit the root caries development by enhancing surface microhardness.