Treatment of Fluorosis by Er:YAG Laser along with Bleaching Gels: A Case Report

Patient awareness of options available in changing the color of natural dentition has created an increase public demand. Bleaching is the least expensive esthetic treatment option. This process can be performed by several energy sources, which accelerate the effect of bleaching materials, such as hydrogen peroxide, in office. Laser particles used for this purpose usually facilitate the absorption of laser light by the gel, leading to the conversion of light energy to thermal energy causing accelerated bleaching material effects.
Case Report: In this paper, a 35-year-old female patient with a history of dental fluorosis referred to dental college with complaints of tooth discoloration. Given the reports on severe tooth sensitivity during home bleaching, office bleaching was carried out using the laser source of Er:YAG laser (Fontona Dualis XS, USA), with a power of 4.2 watts less than the enamel threshold. This process resulted in 2-3 shade change from A3.5 to A1 after three minutes and 15 seconds of treatment. Patient reported no discomfort or sensitivity during and after the procedure, which was due to the short duration of the process and application of primary use of unfocused laser light.
According to the results of this study, application of Er:YAG laser resulted in the removal of tooth discoloration with bleaching gels in the office. Since the Er:YAG laser is an standard device used for many dental procedures, there was no need for purchasing a new laser device. Therefore, Er:YAG laser could be used along with bleaching gels as an effective and minimally invasive method to whiten teeth.