Basic study on vibrations during tooth preparations caused by high‐speed drilling and Er:YAG laser irradiation

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Abstract
Background and Objectives An Er:YAG laser effectively removes dental hard substance, and causes less pain during tooth preparations than high‐speed drilling. This laser was introduced to eliminate the noise, vibration, pressure, and heat associated with the high‐speed drilling. However, the difference in tooth vibration caused by the Er:YAG laser and the high‐speed drill is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate tooth vibration obtained with the Er:YAG laser and high‐speed drill. Study Design/Materials and Methods Each of the five extracted permanent upper first premolars were built up in a plaster box. In this study, a silicone impression material was selected to simulate periodontal tissue. The vibration speed was measured by using a laser Doppler vibrometer. Results The Er:YAG laser irradiation energy was 50, 100, 145, 199, 300, and 350 mJ. As irradiation energy increased, vibration of the tooth also rose; a high‐correlation coefficient was observed between them. We found that only a small amount of the tooth vibration occurred with the Er:YAG laser preparations. The mean vibration speed and standard deviation with the laser were 166 ± 28 μm/second when the output energy was 145 mJ, whereas those with the high‐speed drill were 65 ± 48 mm/second. The frequency characteristic approached 230 Hz and 5 kHz, respectively. Conclusions These results show that the high‐speed drilling causes greater tooth vibration and has a frequency spectrum near the high sensitivity of hearing compared to the Er:YAG laser. This suggests a potential factor in provoking pain and displeasure during tooth preparation. Future study to examine the relationship of pain and amount of tooth vibration will be planned. Lasers Surg. Med. 32:25–31,2003.