Nice stuff Mickey……how were you taking the photos and the erbium is great for these kinds of preps.

What settings did you use and for the soft tissue as well.

Great stuff…….nice to see others showing their cases regardless of how experienced you are .

Thanks again,

Glenn

Hi All–

Opinions please.

It is my understanding from reading the literature and talking with long time erbium users like Bryan Pope, that the erbium lased surface on dentin and enamel needs to be etched to remove the smear layer. Bryan said his 3 year post ops show microleakage that caused him a lot of concern…….

Comments?

Protocols?

Nice result Mickey.

Bob

I am late for work but here is the case I did last Friday for a hands on group.

Abfractive lesion……older gentleman. No anesthetic except topical in pocket.

Used Erbium for soft tissue over mesial buccal root….

20Hz, 30 Mj no H20……..bleeding started a little.

Used Erbium for tooth at 30 Hz and 50-70 mj with water for the enamel I used the higher setting. Used a 400 micron tip for both soft and hard tissue.

The diode was used on the distal root and to condition the mesial buccal root which was oozing and I didnt want a problem during the etch or bond.

It was an 810nm used at .8 w and 10Hz ….no anesthetic.

Patient felt it a tiny bit (3/10) but never felt erbium.

The dentin was frosty PRIOR to the etch , this is the key point to note.

Finished with Point 4 flowable (nice for class Vs as it is sticky and plasticky) and then polished.

Again note the difference in appearance of the dentin , it was dry both times but note how the frostiness disappears after the etch.

Glenn

ANother question Kelly is how do they prepare the surfacce of the dentin for the SEM process, does it involve any dilute acids that might rinse away the ablation materials.

I dont know the answer but clearly you can see at high mag the difference between the dentin pre and post etch. There is no question in my mind.

Glenn

At this low energy setting, did you find that the white line effect at the incisal margin was minimized? Did you still hand plane the incisal margin? I’m doing some final enamel work at 30Hz with very low energy settings and finding that hand planing of the enamel margin provides little additional benefit.

How do you like the Gradia? I’ve been experimenting with Gradia and like the handling properties for posterior restorations. I don’t like the radiolucent properties of the anterior shades.

Al

Mickey great post!!! Nice use of an Er laser. Sure is easy to get a patient to do blocks of restorative when you don’t have to numb them.

Andrew, great eye and dead on.

Ron which light source are you using on the Global?? The pictures are getting better but not there yet…
30HZ at low mj really is nice. 50HZ is even nicer to finish enamel. Al is right.
Have you found with the scope that you are decreasing the Watts and staying more focused?
Al, I really like Girdia but you are right about it being translucent. I use the 0 shade first to add some opacity then layer. It can really look great. works great for those incisals of lower anteriors.