19
SECTION 10: GLOSSARY OF LASER
TERMINOLOGY
Activate - The action that prepares the laser to emit energy.
Active Medium - The core material of a laser that is responsible for
producing a source of electromagnetic energy when activated
by a power supply. They can be a gas, liquid dye, semi-conductor
chip or a man-made rod of Yttrium, Aluminum Garnet Scandium
or Gallium, or some combination of those elements.
Amplitude - The height of an electromagnetic wave as measured
from the top of one wave to the lowest point on the next wave.
Articulating Arm - A device used to deliver radiant energy
Biopsy - A tissue sample removed from an area of questionable
health. Used for examination and diagnosis of a disease.
Cleave - An act of scoring an optical ber so that it separates
into two pieces.
Coherent - A property of electromagnetic waves in which every
wave is of the same wave length and is in phase with the other
identical waves.
Collagen - The brous protein that is prevalent in bone, endons,
cartilage, and connective tissue.
Collimated - A characteristic of laser wave lengths where they
travel in a parallel bundle and are slow to deviate.
Continuous Wave - A temporal mode where radiant laser energy
is emitted constantly without interruption. Also known as ( ).
Electromagnetic Components of Energy - Radiation consisting
of electromagnetic waves where the vertical of the wave is the
electrical phase and the lateral component is a magnetic phase.
Laser light is electromagnetic energy.
Electromagnetic Waves - Time varying electric and magnetic
elds propagating through space. They vary in their wave lengths
and frequency.
Electromagnetic Spectrum - A combination of all electromagnetic
radiation arranged by wave length and frequency. Light as we
know it is from the visible portion of the spectrum.
Exposure - Introducing a tissue to laser energy as measured by the
intensity of the power, the frequency, and time.
Frequency - The number of complete oscillations per second of
an electromagnetic wave.
Joule - A unit of energy. Expressed as milliJoules when used in
dental lasers operating in the pulsed mode. 1000 milliJoules per
second equal 1 Watt.
Laser - An acronym for Light Amplication by Stimulated Emission
of Radiation. Lasers are devices that utilize standard electricity
from a wall outlet to stimulate an active medium which will
produce electromagnetic energy that is collimated, coherent,
and monochromatic.
LSO - Laser Safety Ofcer - individual in charge of laser safety,
training, and equipment operation.
Micron - One millionth of a meter. It can also be stated as
10
-6
meter.
Mode - A stable condition of oscillation in a laser. Lasers can
operate is one or more modes.
Molecule - The smallest particle of a substance that retains the
property of that substance. It is composed of one or more atoms.
Nanometer - A billionth of a meter and can also be expressed
as 10
-9
. Nanometers and microns are the primary measures of a
wave length used in dental lasers.
Photon - A quantum (unit) of radiant energy. A particle of light.
Power (Output Power) - Expressed as Watts where 1 Joule per
second equals 1 Watt.
Power Density - A measure of exposure of the power in Watts
delivered per square millimeter or square centimeter.
Pulsed - ( ) A temporal emission of laser energy that is distributed
among periods where the laser is actively emitting (on) and periods
of no emission (off). The time period when the laser is not emitting
energy (off) is referred to as period of thermal relaxation and is
designed to allow the tissue to cool between bursts of energy.
Quantum - The smallest unit of measure for radiant (light) energy.
Radiant Energy - The vertical component of electromagnetic
waves as they travel through space. It is measured in Joules or
milliJoules.
Spontaneous Emission - As an electron accumulates incident
energy, it is elevated to a higher energy orbit where it will become
unstable and must emit a photon.
Stimulated Emission - An external source of energy from a power
supply stimulates the unstable electron to return to a more stable
energy level by emitting an additional photon.
Velocity - The rate of speed of an electromagnetic wave as it
travels through space.
Watt - The measure of power is Watts. As used in lasers, 1 Joule per
second is equal to 1 Watt.
SECTION 11: REFERENCES ON LASER
DENTISTRY
1. Leo Meserindino, D.D.S. and Robert Pick, D.D.S. Lasers in
Dentistry. Quintessence Books, 1995 .
2. Manni , Jeffrey G. Dental Applications of Advanced Lasers.
Burlington, MA: JGM Associates. Contact at 781-272-6692
3. The Institute for Advanced Dental Technologies, Southeld,
MI: “Lasers Dentistry: Clinical Training Seminars”. 1966.
4. D.J. Coluzzi, “An Overview of Laser WaveLengths Used
in Dentistry”. Chapter in The Dental Clinics of North
American: Convissar, Robert A. editor, “Lasers and Light
Amplication in Dentistry”, W.B. Saunders Company, 44
(4). October 2000. 753 - 765
5. Andreas Moritz, et.al. “Treatment of Periodontal Pockets
with a Diode Laser”. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, Vol
22. 1998. 302- 311
6. M. Kreisler, et.al., “Effects of Diode Laser Irradiation on the
Survival Rate of Gingival Fibroblast Cell Cultures”, Lasers
Surg Med, Volume 28 (5). 2001. 445 - 450.
7. P. Spencer et.al. “Change of Temperature in Subjacent
Bone During Soft Tissue Laser Ablation”, Journal of
Periodontology, Volume 69 (11). 1998.
8. Nora Raffetto and Terri Gutierrez, “Lasers in Periodontal
Therapy, a Five Year Retrospective”, California Dental
Hygiene Association Journal, Volume 16 (2). Redondo
Beach, CA, 2001. 17-20
9. “Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care Facilities”.
American National Standard Institute Standard Z136.3.
BIREX® is a registered trademark of Young Dental Manufacturing, LLC.
CIDEX® is a registered trademark of the Johnson & Johnson
Corporation.
To Next Page
Loading...