Sealing of human dentinal tubules by KrF 248 nm laser radiation

Exposure of dentinal tubules is a common cause of dental hypersensitivity to thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli. Treatment for this syndrome should be fast, painless on application, and long lasting, but most treatments presently available are ineffective or relatively short lived. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the potential of excimer laser treatment as a method to seal tubules, thus reducing sensitivity. The laser treatment was performed on samples with a wide range of orientations of the tubules in relation to the samples surfaces extracted from caries-free human teeth by cross-sectional cutting and on noncarious lesions. The samples were processed using 248 nm wavelength pulsed laser radiation with a pulse duration of 30 ns and fluences in the range 0.5–2 J/cm2. Irrespective of their orientation in relation to the laser beam, tubules may be sealed by laser processing if adequate parameters are used. Tubule sealing is either due to the formation of cone-like features around individual tubules or because the entire surface is covered by a thin layer of resolidified material. The results achieved both on flat samples and in noncarious lesions are reproducible, suggesting that this method is potentially useful for dental hypersensitivity treatment.