Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 32:310–317 (2003) Irradiation of Dental Enamel With Q-Switched l355-nm Laser Pulses: Surface Morphology, Fluoride Adsorption, and Adhesion to Composite Resin

modify the chemical composition of dental enamel to in-crease the bond strength to restorative materials and to render the mineral phase more resistant to acid dissolution. Previous studies have suggested a synergistic relationship between CO2 laser irradiation and fluoride treatment on increased resistance to acid dissolution. In this study a near-UV laser operating with l 355-nm laser pulses of 3–5 nanoseconds duration was used to modify the surface morphology of dental enamel to increase the bond strength to restorative materials and increase the uptake of topical fluoride to render the surface more resistant to acid dis-solution. We hypothesize that the short UV laser pulses are primarily absorbed by protein and lipid localized between the enamel prisms resulting in removal of intact mineral effectively etching the surface without thermal modifica