Effects of Irradiation of Continuous Wave Carbon Dioxide Laser on Caries Resistance of Deciduous Teeth

The objective of this st udy aimed to assess the caries-preventive potential of various CW CO2 laser parameters, and to explore the effect of the laser power density on the caries inhibition activity.Extracted human deciduous molars were irradiated with three various power dens ities, by changing the output power, the exposure time, and the spot diameter. The CO2 laser system emitted laser with 10.6µm in wavelength. All teeth were subjected to carieslike lesion form ation by 3.5 pH lactic acid for 21 days. The teeth after that were sectioned into ground cross sections and the lesion depths were measured under a polarizing microscope.CW CO2 laser preventive treatments inhibited carieslike lesion progres sion up to 82%. This effect was improved with increasing power d ensity within the limits of the examined laser parameters.