Lasers in dentistry: overview and perspectives.

Dental treatment by laser radiation is nowadays a well-known and widely used technique in dentistry. The laser can be thought of as an alternative instrument that sometimes completes or substitutes for traditional dental techniques. Current applications of laser radiation in dentistry depend on the penetration depth of the radiation into the tissue (given by the radiation wavelength) and then on the duration of this interaction (continuous versus pulsed laser regime), on the energy, length of pulse, and radiation power. It is possible to summarize that for the purposes of current clinical dentistry, a span from the visible to the far infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum (*400 nm 10.6 lm) can be used. The dental application can be divided on the following.