Dental and medical treatments and procedures

A method for cleaning a root canal of a tooth, the method comprising:

• submerging an uncovered area of a tapered tip of an optical fiber into a treatment liquid provided in the root canal;
• operating a laser source at a power level in a range of 0.1 W to 1.5 W to produce a laser light beam;
• directing the laser light beam along the optical fiber to the tip and laterally outwardly into the treatment liquid in the root canal;
• and
• generating photoacoustic waves in the treatment liquid to clean the root canal.

A method for cleaning a root canal of a tooth, the root canal containing pulp including nerve and other tissue, the method comprising:

• introducing an aqueous solution into the root canal;
• providing a laser system containing a source of a laser light beam and an elongate optical fiber connected to the source and configured to transmit the laser light beam to a tip portion of the optical fiber, the tip portion containing a tapered tip tapering to an apex with a surrounding conical wall, substantially the entire surface of which is uncovered so that the laser light beam is emitted laterally outwardly therefrom;
• substantially completely immersing at least the tapered tip into the aqueous solution in the root canal;
• pulsing the laser source at a power level in a range of about 0.1 W to about 1.5 W;
• disintegrating at least a substantial portion of the pulp in the root canal into pulp material in admixture in and with said aqueous solution with the pulsed laser source;
• and
• removing the admixture containing the aqueous solution and pulp material from the tooth,
• wherein disintegration of pulp using the pulsed laser source is accomplished without generation of any significant heat in the aqueous solution so as to avoid elevating the temperature of any of the dentin, tooth, or other adjacent tissue more than about 5° C.

A method for cleaning a root canal of a tooth, the method comprising:

• delivering a treatment liquid into the root canal;
• inserting a tip of an optical fiber into the treatment liquid within the root canal, the optical fiber extending along a fiber axis, the tip comprises a tapered tip that tapers radially inwardly and distally;
• pulsing a laser light beam along the optical fiber to the tip;
• directing at least a portion of the laser light laterally outwardly relative to the fiber axis into the treatment liquid, the laterally directed light creating photoacoustic waves in the treatment liquid;
• and
• propagating the photoacoustic waves throughout the root canal, the photoacoustic waves having sufficient vibrational energy to remove material from a wall of the root canal without elevating a temperature of the tooth or adjacent tissue by more than 5° C.

A method for cleaning a root canal of a tooth, the method comprising:

• delivering a treatment liquid into the root canal;
• inserting a tip of an optical fiber into the treatment liquid within the main root canal, the optical fiber extending along a fiber axis, the tip comprises a tapered tip that tapers radially inwardly and distally;
• operating a laser source at subablative threshold settings to produce a laser light beam;
• pulsing the laser light beam along the optical fiber to the tip;
• directing at least a portion of the laser light laterally outwardly relative to the fiber axis into the treatment liquid, the laterally directed light creating photoacoustic waves in the treatment liquid;
• and
• propagating the photoacoustic waves throughout the root canal, the photoacoustic waves having sufficient vibrational energy to remove material from a wall of the root canal without carbonizing, burning, or thermally melting the material.