Title :
Plasma treatment of dental cavities: a feasibility study
Author :
Sladek, Raymond E J ; Stoffels, Eva ; Walraven, Rick ; Tielbeek, Paul J A ; Koolhoven, Ruben A.
Author_Institution :
Fac. of Biomed. Eng., Eindhoven Univ. of Technol., Netherlands
Abstract :
Much effort is invested in the development of tissue-saving methods in dentistry. Cleaning and sterilization of infected tissue in a dental cavity or in a root channel can be accomplished using mechanical or laser techniques. However, with both approaches, heating and destruction of healthy tissue can occur. Recently, a nonthermal atmospheric plasma (plasma needle) has been developed. In this work, the interactions of this plasma with dental tissue is studied, and its capability of bacterial inactivation is tested. A plasma needle is an efficient source of various radicals, which are capable of bacterial decontamination; however, it operates at room temperature and thus, does not cause bulk destruction of the tissue. Plasma treatment is potentially a novel tissue-saving technique, allowing irregular structures and narrow channels within the diseased tooth to be cleaned.
Keywords :
biological techniques; biological tissues; dentistry; microorganisms; plasma applications; plasma sources; 20 degC; bacterial inactivation; dental cavities; infected tissue cleaning; infected tissue sterilization; laser techniques; mechanical techniques; nonthermal atmospheric plasma; plasma needle; plasma treatment; room temperature; root channel; tissue destruction; Cleaning; Decontamination; Dentistry; Heating; Microorganisms; Needles; Plasma sources; Plasma temperature; Teeth; Testing; Bacterial decontamination; caries; dental cavities; plasma needle; sterilization;
Journal_Title :
Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TPS.2004.832636