Rene Franzen

Background In the current cosmetics industry, bleaching is often associated with lasers. However, such treatment also harbors risks. Tooth death is observed at pulpal temperature increases ≥5.6 °C. Therefore, it seems important to investigate the effects of using different lasers. The aim of this study was to determine pulpal temperature increases at different laser parameters during bleaching by modeling a realistic environment and to compare the temperature recording using a thermocouple and thermal camera. The authors assumed that there are laser settings for the lasers used at which the pulpal temperature increases are p < 0.05) were found in the maximum temperature increases (°C) between all groups. Temperature recordings using a thermocouple and thermal camera differed by about 2.3 °C. The working hypotheses were confirmed. Conclusion With laser bleaching, attention must be paid to the type of laser, its power, and the time in order to avoid excessive overheating of the dental pulp.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of an erbium, chromium:yttrium–scandium–gallium–garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser with side-firing tip in decontamination of titanium (Ti) disc. Methods: In the first test series, 29 Ti-discs were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus and treated as follows: positive control (no treatment); Perioflow; Laser A (0.75 W, 100 Hz), Laser B (1.5 W, 30 Hz); Laser C (no radiation, 60% water); and Laser D (no radiation, 50% water). For bacterial quantification, colony forming units (CFU, vital cells only) and quantitative PCR (qPCR, vital and devital cells) were performed. In a second test series, 92 Ti-discs were used, contaminated with in vivo-grown biofilm and treated as follows: positive control (no treatment); Perioflow; Laser E (1.5 W, 30 Hz), and Laser F (no radiation, 50% water). Considering the different and unknown culture conditions, quantification of bacteria was performed by broad-spectrum bacterial qPCR only. Based on the assumption that all cells of an organism contain an equivalent complement of genetic information, genome equivalent (GE) determination ensured the detection of the different intact and semi-intact genomes, regardless of type of bacterial species and vitality, circumvent the inherent bias of cultures. Results: The GE values were significantly reduced by all interventions in both test series, compared to the positive control group (p < 0.001). In the first test series with S. aureus as model organism, Perioflow yielded a lower GE than the Laser groups A–D (all p < 0.025). The number of CFUs was significantly reduced in the intervention groups compared to the positive control (p < 0.001), except for Laser A (p = 0.157) and Laser D (p = 0.393). In the second test series, none of the pairwise comparisons of the intervention conditions showed a significant difference (Perioflow vs. Laser E: p = 0.732; Perioflow vs. Laser F: p = 0.590; Laser E vs. Laser F: p = 0.379). Conclusion: The Er,Cr:YSGG laser with side-firing tip and Perioflow were equally capable of effectively decontaminating a Ti-disc surface. It is assumed that the bacterial reduction was largely due to the mechanical effect of the air and water stream. Graphical

Dental laser applications are steadily increasing in popularity amongst dentists for the last four decades. Although many wavelengths are available for practitioners, semiconductor lasers or commonly known as diode lasers, are still the most popular ones. Dental diode laser devices are available in wavelengths that belong to visible and near infrared region of the electromanetic spectrum. Recently, lasers that are in the area of 400–450 nm have emerged in the market and became available to dentists. In this article, we aim to analyze the clinical possibilities we have with these lasers according to the available literature that has been published so far.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser compared to tungsten carbide bur in removing adhesive remnants from the enamel surface after orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods: Stainless steel orthodontic brackets were bonded to freshly extracted 30 human premolars. Teeth were divided into three groups; group I used the tungsten carbide bur 6 fluted with a high-speed contra, group II used the Er,Cr:YSGG 2780 nm using 2 W, 15 Hz, H mode (60 µs), 133 m J, and group III used the Er,Cr:YSGG 2780 nm using 2.5 W, 30 Hz, S mode (700 µs), 166 m J. After the debonding process, enamel damage was tested by the enamel damage index (EDI) under a stereomicroscope. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between median EDI scores in the three groups (P-value <0.001, effect size = 0.66). Pair-wise comparisons between groups revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between Groups I and III; both showed statistically significantly higher median EDI scores than Group II. Samples of groups I, and III show a score of 2, while group II showed a score of 1. Conclusion: The Er,Cr:YSGG laser with parameters: 2 W, 15 Hz, H mode (60 µs), 133 mJ showed better enamel surface appearance. and the Er,Cr:YSGG laser can be used as an alternative to the tungsten carbide bur in adhesive remnant removal after orthodontic bracket debonding

Demand for supportive housing outstrips availability in metropolitan regions around the country. Individuals who are homeless with serious mental illnesses, substance abuse, and other debilitating health conditions are often heavy users of publicly financed services and institutions, such as jails, emergency departments, psychiatric and medical hospitals, and sobering and detoxification services. King County, in collaboration with community partners, has developed a regional system for coordinating and prioritizing access to this limited resource based on utilization of publicly financed services/institutions and/or vulnerability. In this paper, the model, key implementation steps, preliminary results, and lessons learned are described.