Effect of Er:YAG laser on debonding strength of laminate veneers

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the debonding strength of laminate veneers after using erbium-doped: yttrium aluminium garnet (Er:YAG) laser. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 60 bovine mandibular incisor teeth were divided into two groups (n = 30). Cylindrical specimens (0.7 mm × 5 mm) were fabricated from Empress II ceramic. Then, they were cemented to incisors using dual-cured resin cement (Variolink II). In the first group, no laser application was performed. The Er:YAG laser was applied on each laminate veneer at the test group for 9 s by using the scanning method. Shear force to remove the laminate veneers were applied with universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. RESULTS Results of this study exhibited significant differences between the control (27.28 ± 2.24 MPa) and test group (3.44 ± 0.69 MPa) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION This study shows that application of Er:YAG laser decreased the bond strength of laminate veneers.