El LIBS como método de detección de tejido desmineralizado en dientes

Abstract

The teeth are in constant chemical attack by microorganisms, which cause visible changes in structure and permanent damage requiring removal of the affected areas. As is known, this procedure is carried out by teams of airotor, causing pain, are invasive and circumferential areas affecting constituents. In recent years the laser has been introduced as a means of removing decay, showing advantages as cleaning, selectivity and decreased pain. An important improvement for these equipments would be having a monitoring system that accurately indicates the kind of tissue being removed. We propose the use of the LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) technique in real time as a method of detection of diseased tissue.The chemical composition of healthy and diseased tissue was been analyzed, establishing clear differences in their elemental compositions and allowing identification of the tissue. The excitation source is a laser device emitting trains of pulses whose intensity and temporal spacing increase the excitation of the chemical species and consequently improve the signal-noise ratio. For its compactness and low cost, the device would be easily integrated to a dental laser system.