Investigation of tooth tissue--photoacoustics versus other spectroscopic methods

Knowledge about optical and thermal properties of tooth tissue is necessary for application and use of new laser techniques in dentistry. Experiments have been carried out with tooth tissue from human and some species of animals at wavelengths reaching from ultraviolet to visible regions, using different spectroscopic methods which give complementary information about the samples. Photothermal spectroscopy, remittance spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy provide the possibility for differentiation between tooth constituents.