Colvard M D, Pick R M
Northwestern University Dental School, Chicago, Illinois.
Curr Opin Periodontol. 1993:144-50.
Dental practitioners continue to serve as leaders in the development of laser applications for dental surgery. Laser wavelengths ranging from the ultra-violet excimer lasers to the far-infrared carbon-dioxide lasers are now used in dental research with greater frequency. By using new and emerging laser media, researchers can now demonstrate advances in the fields of laser diagnostics, photocoagulation, photoablation, and laser tissue-welding. Dental laser therapy is rapidly emerging as an increasingly significant portion of the dental armamentarium. As advances in laser media and miniaturized delivery systems continue, dental laser research will continue to focus on the risk-benefit ratios and viability of specific laser applications. This paper reviews significant laser research of the past year, covering such areas as laser history, laser types, and laser biophysics. Finally, the future implications for dentistry of the most recent advances in laser therapies on hard and soft tissues is reviewed.
牙科从业者在牙科手术激光应用的发展中继续发挥着引领作用。从紫外线准分子激光到远红外二氧化碳激光的各种激光波长，如今在牙科研究中的使用频率越来越高。通过使用新型和新兴的激光介质，研究人员现在能够展示激光诊断、光凝、光消融和激光组织焊接等领域的进展。牙科激光治疗正迅速成为牙科医疗设备中越来越重要的一部分。随着激光介质和小型化输送系统的不断进步，牙科激光研究将继续关注特定激光应用的风险效益比和可行性。本文回顾了过去一年的重要激光研究，涵盖激光历史、激光类型和激光生物物理学等领域。最后，还回顾了激光疗法在硬组织和软组织方面的最新进展对牙科的未来影响。
