A Comparative Analysis of the Occluding Effects on Dentinal Tubules With the Use of Er:YAG Laser and a Commercially Available Desensitizing Agent: An In Vitro Scanning Electron Microscopic Study

ObjectiveThis in vitro scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study aimed to compare the effect of Er:YAG laser and a commercially launched dental product namely 8% arginine-calcium carbonate on exposed dentinal tubules.Materials and methodsA total of 120 tooth samples prepared from healthy maxillary first premolars extracted due to orthodontic reasons were grouped randomly into four groups of 30 samples each - Group I: control group (C); Group II: laser group (LG); Group III: toothpaste group (TP) and Group IV: laser + toothpaste group (LT). The samples in Group II-IV were treated with the respective test agents and were placed under SEM to study the changes in the dentinal tubule number and diameter. The data obtained from SEM were then subjected to statistical analysis using an unpaired t-test.ResultsThe unpaired t-test revealed extreme statistical differences in means between the test and the control groups and among the test groups (p