SURFACE CHARACTERIZATION OF LASER MODIFIED HUMAN TOOTH ENAMEL USING LASER MICROPROBE MASS-SPECTROMETRY AND SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

A technique in preventative dentistry currently under development is t he modification of the tooth surface by the fusion of glassy metal oxi des into the enamel surface using a CO2 laser, This could provide a pr otective coating to the tooth which would be applied in the mouth. Suc h a radical treatment is intended to produce major changes in chemistr y at the tooth surface and characterisation of these changes is a nece ssary part of the development of the technology, LMMS and SEM have bee n used, as part of a feasibility study, to characterise coatings depos ited with laser assisted fusion on the surface of human tooth enamel, in particular the chemical and topographical changes taking place, The results demonstrate that the analytical approach adopted provides use ful qualitative information about the physical and chemical changes ta king place, They highlight the fact that although deposition of the co ating is patchy, areas are present where the coating has apparently fu sed to the tooth enamel, Changes in the chemistry of the tooth enamel subjected to laser irradiation were identified, both in the absence of coating precursors and with precursor materials present.