Principles and Practice of Laser Dentistry - E-Book

Robert A. Convissar

• Publisher: Mosby
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780323297639
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Dentistry

Expand your skills in the rapidly growing field of laser dentistry! The new second edition of Principles and Practice of Laser Dentistry contains everything you need to know about the latest laser procedures across all areas of dentistry. With vivid clinical photos and easy-to-follow writing, Dr. Robert A. Convissar and his team of dental experts walk you through the most common uses of lasers in areas like: periodontics, periodontal surgery, oral pathology, implantology, fixed and removable prosthetics, cosmetic procedures, endodontics, operative dentistry, pediatrics, orthodontics, and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The book also covers topics such as the history of lasers in dentistry, laser research, the latest laser equipment, and how to go about incorporating lasers into your practice, so that you are fully equipped to use lasers successfully in your treatments.

• The latest evidence-based, authoritative information is written by experts from all areas of dentistry (periodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, prosthodontics, implants, endodontics, and pediatric and general dentistry).
• Case studies reflect treatment planning and the use of lasers for a variety of pathologies.
• Detailed, full-color art program clearly illustrates preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative procedures.
• Summary tables and boxes provide easy-to-read summaries of essential information.
• Clinical Tips and Caution boxes interspersed throughout the text highlight key clinical points.
• Glossary at the end of the book provides definitions of laser terminology.
• Chapter on Introducing Lasers into the Dental Practice provides guidelines for the investment into lasers.

• NEW! Updated content on regenerative laser periodontal therapy, lasers in implant dentistry, lasers in restorative dentistry, low-level lasers in dentistry, and laser dentistry research reflects the latest technology advancements in the field.
• NEW! More clinical photos, equipment photos, and conceptual illustrations offer a detailed look at how equipment is used and how procedures are completed.

1

Einstein’s “Splendid Light”

Origins and Dental Applications

John G. Sulewski

Humankind’s fascination with the properties of light and its applications in medicine can be traced to ancient times. Developments in physics at the beginning of the twentieth century laid the foundation for laser theory postulated by Albert Einstein, culminating in the invention of this special form of light in 1960. Soon thereafter, researchers began to explore possible applications of laser technology in medical and dental treatment.

The medicinal use of light for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes dates from antiquity. Light allowed early physicians to observe skin color, inspect wounds, and choose a suitable therapeutic course of action. Heat from sunlight or campfires was used for therapy. Greeks and Romans took daily sunbaths, and the solarium was a feature of many Roman houses.¹ Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Indians used light to treat rickets, psoriasis, skin cancer, and even psychosis.²

The ancient Egyptians, Indians, and Greeks also used natural sunlight to repigment affected skin in patients with vitiligo by activating the naturally occurring photosensitizer psoralen, found in parsley and other plants.^3-5 In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European physicians used sunlight and artificial light to treat cutaneous tuberculosis, psoriasis, eczema, and mycosis fungoides.³ These and other applications of light were precursors to the invention and subsequent use of optical amplifier devices that generate a special form of light—lasers—in the medical field over the past several decades.

This chapter examines the efforts of select laser pioneers in dentistry and summarizes current intraoral clinical applications of lasers.

Early Published Theories of Light

Philosophers and scientists long pondered the nature of light: Was it composed of particles, waves, pressure, or some other substance or force?

In his Book of Optics, published in 1021, Persian mathematician, scientist, and philosopher Ibn al-Haytham described light as being composed of a stream of tiny particles that travel in straight lines and bounce off objects that they strike.⁶ Pierre Gassendi, a French philosopher, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician, described his particle theory of light (published posthumously in 1658 in Lyon, France, as part of the six volumes of his collected works, the Opera Omnia), in effect introducing to European scholars the atomism view of the universe identified by the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE)⁷ (Figure 1-1).

Gassendi’s work influenced English physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who described light as “corpuscles” or particles of matter that “were emitted in all directions from a source”^8,9 (Figure 1-2). Newton proposed the theory of particle dynamics, which later would be developed to describe the behavior of particles reacting to the influence of arbitrary forces.¹⁰ The particle view of light differed from that of French philosopher and scientist René Descartes, who in his 1637 Discourse saw light as a type of “pressure,” which foreshadowed the postulation of the wave theory of light¹¹ (Figure 1-3).

In 1665, English scientist Robert Hooke suggested his wave theory of light, likening the spread of light vibrations to that of waves in water: “every pulse or vitration of the luminous body will generate a sphere, which will continually increase, and grow bigger, just after the same manner (though infinitely swifter) as the waves or rings on the surface of the water do swell into bigger and bigger circles about a point.”¹² The wave concept subsequently was proved experimentally by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, who in 1865 proposed an electromagnetic wave theory of light and demonstrated that electromagnetic waves traveled at precisely the speed of light.¹³

• Figure 1-1 Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE).

• Figure 1-2 A, Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). B, Title page from Newton’s work Opticks, 1704.

• Figure 1-3 René Descartes (1596-1650).

Development of Quantum Theory

The previous theories, useful as they might have been before 1900, did not entirely or satisfactorily describe the characteristics of light observed by the scientific community: Light behaved as particles in some cases and as waves in others. This context of inquiry led to the field of quantum theory.

On December 14, 1900, German physicist Max Planck delivered a lecture before the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft) in which he theorized that light consisted of discrete and indivisible packets of radiant energy that he named quanta. He described what eventually became known as the elemental unit of energy (E), as E = hv, where h is a constant of nature with the dimension of action (= energy × time, with a value of 6.626 × 10⁻³⁴ joule-second), subsequently called Planck’s constant, and v is the frequency of radiation. Planck’s theory was published late in 1900.^14-16 Eleven years later, British physicist Ernest Rutherford contributed to quantum theory when he postulated a planetary model of the atom based on his experimental observations of the scattering of alpha particles by atoms. In his view an atom comprises a central charge surrounded by a distribution of electrons orbiting within a sphere.¹⁷

Danish physicist Niels Bohr synthesized Rutherford’s atom model with Planck’s quantum hypothesis (Figure 1-4). In a series of papers published in 1913, Bohr proposed a theory in which electrons revolve in specific orbits around a nucleus without emitting radiant energy. He described the stable, “ground state” of an atom, when all of its electrons are at their lowest energy level. Bohr also theorized that an electron may suddenly jump from one specific orbital level to a higher level; to do so, an electron must gain energy. Conversely, an electron must lose energy to move from a higher energy level to a lower energy level. Thus an electron can move from one energy level to another by either absorbing or emitting radiant energy or light.^18,19

It was in this burgeoning milieu of nascent quantum theory that Albert Einstein made three significant contributions. First, in 1905, Einstein developed his light quantum theory: “In the propagation of a light ray emitted from a point source, the energy is not distributed continuously over ever-increasing volumes of space, but consists of a finite number of energy quanta localized at points of space that move without dividing, and can be absorbed or generated as complete units.”²⁰ Singh²¹ points out that this paper on photoelectric effect was the first that Einstein published during his annus m...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1. Einstein’s “Splendid Light”: Origins and Dental Applications
• 2. Laser Fundamentals
• 3. Laser-Assisted Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy
• 4. Lasers in Surgical Periodontics
• 5. Regenerative Laser Periodontal Therapy
• 6. Lasers in Fixed Prosthetic and Cosmetic Reconstruction
• 7. Lasers in Implant Dentistry
• 8. Use of Lasers for Minor Oral Surgery in General Practice
• 9. Laser-Enhanced Removable Prosthetic Reconstruction
• 10. Lasers in Restorative Dentistry
• 11. Lasers in Pediatric Dentistry
• 12. Lasers in Orthodontics
• 13. Lasers in Endodontics
• 14. Lasers in Major Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• 15. Photobiomodulation in Dentistry
• 16. Introducing Lasers into the Dental Practice
• 17. Laser Dentistry Research
• Glossary
• Index