Dental tissue cutting, drilling and fusing system
US5192279A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 26, 1991 |
| Grant date | Mar 9, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 26, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2018/2025
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus are described for cutting, drilling, ablating, fusing or altering dental tissues including enamel, dentine, bone, and cementium among others. Far infrared radiation of wavelengths between 2.5 and 3.2 microns are used to selectively affect dental tissue, where the radiation energy density determines whether cutting, fusing or other effects are produced. Either continuous wave or pulsed radiation can be used, a suitable IR source being an Erbium YSGG laser having an output wavelength of 2.79 microns. The exposed dental tissue is removed, fused, or otherwise affected without damage to the surrounding tissues depending on the duration of the exposure. Medical and dental applications include the removal of carious lesions and the preparation of a carious lesion for filling with an appropriate filler material, the cutting or sectioning of healthy tissue, the sealing of cracks and fissures in the hard tissues, the fusing of enamel surfaces in order to prevent decay, the removal of calculus deposits, the preparation of implant sites, the application of coatings chemically similar to the dental hard tissue by fusion induced by the radiation, sealing of root surfaces i…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.