yttrium, aluminum, garnet (Nd:YAG) laser using a 320 micron contact optic fiber handpiece with an energy setting of 80 mJ at 10 pulses per second for one minute.The fiber was held perpendicular to the root surface. An attempt was made to cover the entire root surface equally during the one minute of exposure. This was confirmed in a subsequent pilot study using lased, non-diseased root segments.A pilot study using photoacoustic spectroscopy on a iii laser charred root surface revealed the presence of a charged ion of ammonium and an altered phosphate to carbonate ratio as compared to a non-lased root segment.The presence of this charged ion of ammonium may have

Recently lasers have been recommended as an alternative or adjunctive therapy in the control and treatment of periodontally diseased root surfaces. The purpose of this in vitro investigation was to characterize the chemical structure of lased root surfaces using Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR/PAS). Cementum samples, 6 mm x 2 mm, were cut from the root surface of extracted non-carious, unerupted human molars. The experimental samples were lased with a Nd:YAG laser at an average energy of 80 mJ at 10 pulses per second. Total lasing time ranged from 1 minute 45 seconds to 4 minutes. A non-lased cementum sample served as the control. All spectra were recorded from 4000 to 400 cm-1 using the photoacoustic cell attachment on an Analect RFX-65 FTIR Spectrometer. Photoacoustic FTIR spectra of lased cementum samples showed a decrease in the protein/mineral ratio in comparison to the control. Breakdown of protein at the root surface potentially contributed to an ammonium band at 2010 cm-1. The decreased protein/mineral ratio and the potential surface contamination with protein by-products, may ultimately affect cell reattachment at the cementum surface.