Effects of CO2 laser irradiation on tooth-root cementum.

With the aging of the American population and the endemic problem of gingival recession, patients will inevitably suffer from greater exposure of root surfaces and therefore will be more likely to develop root caries. The treatment of root caries is often frustrating. Traditional biomaterials used for the restoration of enamel caries have been less than satisfactory when margins of a cavity are adjacent to cementum. Although topical fluoride gels, toothpastes, and rinses have been used to prevent or to inhibit the development of root caries, there is a problem of access to the proximal surfaces. Consequently, the development of better methods to facilitate the prevention of root caries has become an important issue in dentistry.