Hi Lee,
Good questions…

First, the Waterlase Trunk fiber does, like any other fiber, degrade over time. BUT it takes quite a bit of use and time to happen. Usually over a 3-5 year period, with heavy use one might see a 15% degradation in power output. What I have seen is that if you have a Tech come and check your laser yearly, you can tell if it is happening long before you notice any change in output of energy. The most over looked problem though is the handpiece itself. If you don’t check your mirror for “fog” or possible carbonization, due to moisture leaking into it, or by not drying it thoroughly after removal from the autoclave, you can degrade your power at THAT site. Long before the trunk fiber degrades. I don’t have time this morning to go into much more, BUT I have learned alot from the engineers who attend our courses, and will take some time next week if you wish to share a bit more from them. We just sold our house, have to pack, find a rental, new builder, etc…with everything else going on, I have become more of a “lurker” than a poster these days. Missed you and Sheila in Seattle, just got too busy to call back, BUT we need to catch up soon, Lori says hello!

Sincerely,
Mark

You do remember they’re included on the Periolase , don’t you?:biggrin:

Hi Guys–

The model is the PM 600, and it sells for around &#36900 or so. It was designed for dental lasers of all wavelengths from visible through 10,640 nm (CO2).

Ron is right–we have incorporated a Molectron/Coherent power meter in the PerioLase unit itself, and can be used to validate the power output of another laser device even with a different wavelength. I’ve been told by several PerioLase users that they use its PM to check their erbiums.

Mark Colona and Glenn are right that these fibers eventually degrade even under optimal operations. And it is great that the DELight has a calibration port to check that.

But we all have experiences where things “go bump in the night” in our operatories. You know, you come in one morning and the cuspidor is on the floor and no one knows how THAT happened!!

The fact is that there are a lot of things that can cause power loss in our laser systems. Anywhere along the delivery of power to the tissue–from flashlamp pumping to optical alignment to fiber to tips–things can happen that interfere with the optimal delivery of energy.

It just makes good sense to know–every day– what our lasers are delivering at the fiber tip where the laser’s tissue interactions are very critical to the clinical end result.

I recently noticed a significant power drop in my Periolase unit. Now, I’m pretty decent at adjusting my techniques to get results in spite of some performance frustrations, but it takes alot more out of me in time, energy, effort, and concentration.

I checked the power at the fiber tip and had about a 35% power drop! I checked several fibers–that wasn’t the problem. I opened up the cover and found all sorts of “Dust Bunnies”. After vacuuming them out (not blowing them out which can cause static charge accross the circuit boards)–I was back up to full power Scottie……and what a difference in ease of use and manipulating tissue. It was like having a brand new laser.

But I wouldn’t have had an inkling of whether I had a simple or a major probem if I didn’t even know that I actually had a power reduction, and could do some simple trouble shooting first.

Bob

Lee,

Calibration take a few (5-10) seconds. It is measured in average power (Watts). I measure once in the morning when I’m getting ready with my first patient of the day. I only remeasure when I detect something is not working as smoothly as I expect. Most of the time, the power drop is a fiber issue–a bad cleave or tip, for example.

And just for the record–I have no &#36&#36 interest in the company or product. MDT doesn’t get any special pricing or deals from the company. I don’t even think they know that I promote the PM600 as I do?

Bob