" Plasma needle: The future of Dentistry "

IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 2004

Much effort is invested in the development of tissue-saving methods in dentistry. Cleaning and sterilization of infected tissue in a dental cavity or in a root channel can be accomplished using mechanical or laser techniques. However, with both approaches, heating and destruction of healthy tissue can occur. Recently, a nonthermal atmospheric plasma (plasma needle) has been developed. In this work, the interactions of this plasma with dental tissue is studied, and its capability of bacterial inactivation is tested. A plasma needle is an efficient source of various radicals, which are capable of bacterial decontamination; however, it operates at room temperature and thus, does not cause bulk destruction of the tissue. Plasma treatment is potentially a novel tissue-saving technique, allowing irregular structures and narrow channels within the diseased tooth to be cleaned.

Journal of Hospital Infection, 2004

The theoretical risk of prion transmission via surgical instruments is of current public and professional concern. These concerns are further heightened by reports of the strong surface affinity of the prion protein, and that the removal of organic material by conventional sterilization is often inadequate. Recent reports of contamination on sterilized endodontic files are of particular relevance given the close contact that these instruments may make with peripheral nerve tissue. In this paper, we report the effective use of a commercial gas plasma etcher in the cleaning of endodontic files. A representative sample of cleaned, sterilized, files was screened, using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, to determine the level of contamination before plasma cleaning. The files were then exposed for a short-term to a low-pressure oxygen -argon plasma, before being re-examined. In all cases, the amount of organic material (in particular that which may have comprised protein) was reduced to a level below the detection limit of the instrument. This work suggests that plasma cleaning offers a safe and effective method for decontamination of dental instruments, thus reducing the risk of iatrogenic transmission of disease during dental procedures. Furthermore, whilst this study focuses on dental files, the findings indicate that the method may be readily extended to the decontamination of general surgical instruments.

Preliminary investigation of the antibacterial, 2023

The investigation of the efficiency of a handheld Plasma Gun (PG) in the decontamination of tooth root canals is here reported. The antibacterial efficacy of the PG was first assessed on Enterococcus faecalis contaminated agar plates to determine optimal operating conditions that were then quantitatively evaluated treating contaminated liquid suspensions. Moreover, two different procedures for the inactivation of bacteria in realistic tooth models, resembling procedures conventionally adopted in endodontic practice, were investigated: (A) irrigation of contaminated tooth models with plasma activated water (indirect treatment) produced using the PG and (B) direct exposure of the contaminated tooth models to the plasma plume produced by the PG (direct treatment). The experiments were performed with the root canal model both in wet (root canal filled with bacteria suspension) and in dry (root canal contaminated and dried) conditions. From the obtained results, the direct treatment under dry conditions turned out to be the most effective, leading to a bacterial load mean reduction of 4.1.

Plasma Sources Science and Technology, 2006

In this paper we describe the hitherto unravelled facts on the interactions of a cold atmospheric plasma with living cells and tissues. A specially designed source, plasma needle, is a low-power discharge, which operates under the threshold of tissue damage. When applied properly, the needle does not cause fatal cell injury which would result in cell death (necrosis). Instead, it allows precise and localized cell removal by means of the so-called cell detachment. In addition, plasma can be used for bacterial disinfection. Because of mild treatment conditions, plasma disinfection can be performed in vivo, e.g. on wounds and dental cavities. Presently, one strives to obtain a better control of the operating device. Therefore, plasma has been characterized using a variety of diagnostics, and a smart system has been designed for the positioning of the device with respect to the treated surface.

Plasma is known as 'fourth state of matter'. Plasma is two types: thermal and non-thermal or cold atmospheric plasma. Electrons and heavy particles (neutral and ions) present at the same temperature in Thermal plasma. Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) is said to be non-thermal because it has electron at a hotter temperature than the heavy particles that are at room temperature. This review demonstrates different application of plasma in dentistry like effect of plasma on dental implant, dental cavity decontamination, sterilization, root canal disinfection, tooth whitening, polymerization etc.

Most of the people cannot even imagine that there exists a fourth state of matter other than liquids, solids, and gases known as “plasma,” which is actually the most unusual and the most abundant energy form. It exists commonly in association with galaxies, stars, and lightning and could become a new and painless way to eliminate biofilms, bacterial pathogens, plaque, and periodontal pockets. Plasmas may promise painless subgingival plaque removal and elimination of bacteria deep in the pocket without reflecting the flap. The field is immature but when developed completely will be able to be applied for many of the dental procedures for increasing the efficiency. This comprehensive review of literature is intended to provide with a summary of the current status of this emerging field, its scope, and its use in the field of periodontics.

Physics of Plasmas, 2011

A nonthermal low temperature air plasma jet is characterized and applied to study the plasma effects on oral pathogens and biofilms. Experiments were performed on samples of six defined microorganisms' cultures, including those of gram-positive bacteria and fungi, and on a cultivating biofilm sample of Streptococcus mutans UA159. The results show that the plasma jet creates a zone of microbial growth inhibition in each treated sample; the zone increases with the plasma treatment time and expands beyond the entire region directly exposed to the plasma jet. With 30s plasma treatment twice daily during 5 days of biofilm cultivation, its formation was inhibited. The viability of S. mutans cells in the treated biofilms dropped to below the measurable level and the killed bacterial cells concentrated to local regions as manifested by the fluorescence microscopy via the environmental scanning electron microscope. The emission spectroscopy of the jet indicates that its plasma effluent carries an abundance of reactive atomic oxygen, providing catalyst for the observed plasma effect.

Proceedings of the International Conference on Biomedical Electronics and Devices, 2013

Gas discharge plasma is being explored nowadays for its application as an alternative to the conventional sterilization and disinfection techniques in medical sciences. We have developed the non-thermal atmospheric plasma torch to study the effect of plasma treatment on the growth rate of E. faecalis culture and biofilms. E. faecalis treated with plasma was then compared with helium gas exposed and chlorohexidine treated cultures and biofilms. All the results are analysed for significance (P < 0.001) using ANOVA and TUCKEY'S test. Optical emission spectroscopy technique has been employed in. situ to identify the species interacting with the samples. It is found that atmospheric non-thermal plasma proves to be a promising alternative to traditional disinfectants for disinfection during endodontic treatment.

Plasma Medicine

A direct current, cold, atmospheric-pressure Ar/O 2 (2%) plasma microjet (PMJ) was used to disinfect root canals in single-rooted extracted human teeth. Results showed that 98.8% Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) was inactivated in 8 min. However, the seemingly cleaned root canal was reinfected after a week, possibly due to the hard-to-reach infected dentinal tubules. It was found that a 30-min PMJ treatment could effectively prevent the reinfection. This presents a simple yet effective alternative to traditional treatment of root canal infections in endodontic therapy. KEY WORDS: plasma microjet, root canal, disinfection Volume 1, Number 2, 2011 The Effect of an Atmospheric Pressure, DC Nonthermal Plasma Microjet on Tooth Root Canal, Dentinal Tubules Infection and Reinfection Prevention

Journal of Operative Dentistry & Endodontics, 2016

Introduction Plasma is the fourth state of matter and others are liquid, gas, and solid. Plasma occurs as a natural phenomenon in the universe and appears in the form of fire, in the polar aurora borealis and in the nuclear fusion reactions of the sun. It can be produced artificially which has gained importance in the fields of plasma screens or light sources. Plasma is of two types: Thermal and nonthermal or cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). Thermal plasma has electrons and heavy particles (ions and neutral) at the same temperature. Cold atmospheric plasma is said to be nonthermal as it has electron at a hotter temperature than the heavy particles that are at room temperature. Cold atmospheric plasma is a specific type of plasma, i.e., &lt;104°F at the point of application. It could become a new and painless method to prepare cavities for restoration with improved longevity. Also it is capable of bacterial inactivation and noninflammatory tissue alteration, which makes it an attractiv...