Use of secondary optical emission as a novel biofilm targeting technology

A method for the treatment of bacterial biofilm in a periodontal or periimplant pocket of a patient having periodontal disease or periimplant disease, the method comprising:

• applying a chromophore dye to tissue and biofilm in the pocket, resulting in stained biofilm and target tissue, wherein the dye preferentially absorbs light energy in an absorption band spectral range;
• introducing an end of an optical fiber comprising an unclad tip into the pocket, said optical fiber comprising a core surrounded by cladding and extending to an unclad tip;
• energizing a laser and sending resulting output laser radiation through the optical fiber to the unclad tip, wherein the laser radiation comprises at least one wavelength in a range from about 800 nm to about 1100 nm;
• causing the unclad tip to contact at least a portion of the stained biofilm and target tissue;
• delivering the laser radiation to the target tissue to form carbonized material;
• accumulating the carbonized material on the unclad tip;
• forming a hot tip by the carbonized material accumulated on the unclad portion of the optical fiber by heating the carbonized material to a temperature of about 600 K to about 1500 K in response to the laser radiation to cause the hot tip to emit secondary quantum emissions of incandescent radiation, at least a portion of said incandescent radiation having a wavelength corresponding to the absorption band spectral range of the dye, and wherein the dye more preferentially absorbs light at wavelengths corresponding the secondary quantum emissions than at wavelengths corresponding to the laser radiation;
• irradiating the stained target tissue and biofilm with the secondary quantum emissions emitted from the hot tip;
• rapidly moving the hot tip to a plurality of locations distributed throughout the volume of the pocket such that the hot tip does not dwell at any one of the locations for a period of more than about 2 seconds;
• effecting complete coagulation of the entire biofilm within the pocket in response to heat transfer and photobiological events resulting from preferential absorption of the secondary quantum emissions by the dye on the stained biofilm;
• and
• protecting healthy tissue peripheral to the biofilm from substantial thermal damage resulting from the laser radiation by absorbing at least a portion of the laser radiation with the carbonized material accumulated at the hot tip.