Caries inhibition around composite restorations by pulsed carbon dioxide laser application

This in vitro study aimed to evaluate whether laser irradiation of cavity margins reduces enamel demineralization around composite restoration. Enamel cavities were prepared in 33 human enamel slabs, which were randomly divided into three groups. One group was kept as a control, and the cavosurface margin of the cavities of the other groups were irradiated, using a CO(2) laser (lambda = 10.6 microm), at 8 J.cm(-2) or 16 J.cm(-2). The cavities were restored with a resin-based composite, according to the manufacturer's specifications. Before restoration, scanning electron microscopy was performed on one specimen of each group. The remaining slabs were submitted to thermal and pH-cycling models. Enamel mineral loss, at 50 and 100 microm from the restoration margin, was assessed by cross-sectional microhardness analyses. Fusion and melting were observed in the irradiated groups. Mineral loss at 50 microm from the restoration margin was significantly inhibited in the irradiated groups compared to the control group, but at 100 microm from the restoration margin, mineral loss at only the highest laser energy density differed statistically from the control group. The difference between the irradiated groups was not statistically significant at either 50 or 100 microm from the restoration margin. In conclusion, irradiation of the cavosurface margin of cavities, using a pulsed CO(2) laser, is able to inhibit enamel demineralization around composite restorations, and an energy density of 16 J.cm(-2) is efficient, even at 100 microm from the cavity margin.