We aimed to examine the effect of various adhesive systems on the bond strength of composite resin to enamel or dentin prepared with erbium, chromium: yttrium scandium gallium garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser. Each laser-cut enamel or dentin surface was treated with a bonding agent (SBB, Group 1); self-etching primer (SBP) and SBB (Group 2 and control); phosphoric-acid (KET), SBP and SBB (Group 3); KET, sodium-hypochlorite (ADG), SBP and SBB (Group 4); all-in-one adhesive (TSB, Group 5); or KET, ADG and TSB (Group 6). The control group was only polished with wet silicon carbide papers. The enamel shear bond strength of Group 5 was significantly lower than that of other groups (p<0.01). The control group showed higher bond strength compared to Groups 1-6 (p<0.05). Preconditioning using phosphoric acid or phosphoric acid followed by sodium hypochlorite increased the bond strength of composite resin to enamel and dentin prepared using an Er,Cr:YSGG laser.

We aimed at examining the effects of a percentage of air/water in spray on the cutting efficiency of Er,Cr:YSGG laser for enamel and dentin. The intensity and frequency of irradiation were 3.0 W and 20 Hz for the enamel surface and 2.0 W and 20 Hz for the dentin surface, respectively. Flattened surfaces of enamel and dentin were irradiated at nine points for approximately 1 s under various percentages of air/water in spray using Er,Cr:YSGG laser. A high-speed video microscope was used to record each laser irradiation on the tooth surface. A slow video image was used to count the number of water micro-explosions yielded on the tooth surface during laser irradiation. A surface roughness tester was used to measure the depth of the dimple prepared with laser irradiation on each specimen. Each individual depth of dimple was divided by the number of water micro-explosions (pulse). This allowed for the calculation of the cutting depth per pulse. Following laser irradiation, several representative specimens were observed using an SEM. Two-way ANOVA was used as the statistical analysis. This revealed that there was no significant effect of the percentage of air/water in spray on the cutting depth for enamel surface (p > 0.05). On the contrary, a significant effect was observed in air-ratio for dentin cutting (p < 0.05). Both enamel and dentin were characterized by the presence of rough surfaces, as shown by the SEM images of the dimples. The percentage of air/water in spray was not significantly effective in laser cutting for enamel. Air-percentage was significantly effective in laser cutting for dentin.

We examined the effects of adhesive systems under study applied for a laser-cut cavity using an Er,Cr:YSGG laser on rat dental pulp at 24 h and 14 days postoperatively. Group 1, laser-cut cavities were treated with a self-etching-primer and bonding agent; group 2, pretreated with a phosphoric-acid, and then treated with a self-etching-primer and bonding agent; group 3, pretreated with a phosphoric-acid and sodium-hypochlorite, and then treated with a self-etching-primer and bonding agent; and group 4, treated with an all-in-one adhesive. A flowable resin composite was used as filling material for each cavity treated with each group. A glass-ionomer-cement was used as a control. The following items were evaluated: pulp-tissue-disorganization (PTD), inflammatory-cell-infiltration (ICI), tertiary-dentin-formation (TDF), and bacterial-penetration (BP). The results were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test. No significant differences were observed among the experimental groups for all parameters after 24 h and 14 days (P > 0.05). The majority of the specimens showed PTD with edema formation after 24 h; however, all the specimens demonstrated pulpal healing with TDF after 14 days. On the parameter of TDF, all groups showed significant differences between the two postoperative periods (P < 0.01). On the parameter of ICI, a significant difference was found between the two postoperative periods in group 4 (P < 0.05). No specimens showed BP. The pretreatment on the cavity prepared with the laser using phosphoric-acid or sodium-hypochlorite did not affect the dental pulp healing of rat tooth.