Clinical evaluation of caries removal in primary teeth using conventional, chemomechanical and laser technique: an in vivo study.

Aim: To evaluate four different techniques of caries excavationin primary teeth in terms of efficacy, efficiency and painexperienced during the procedure.Materials and methods: Sample of 120 teeth from childrenaged 5 to 9 years were equally divided into 4 groups � Air rotor(group A), Carisolv (group B), Papacarie (group C) and Er:YAGlaser (group D). Visual and tactile criteria along withDIAGNOdent pen value was used to evaluate efficacy. Timewas recorded to determine efficiency and FLACC scale wasused to assess the pain experienced.Results: Air rotor and laser were more effective and efficientmethod whereas laser and CMCR methods were morecomfortable methods.Conclusion: Laser irradiation and CMCR methods arecomparable to conventional methods in terms of effectivenessand are less painful methods.Clinical significance: Newer techniques of CMCR and laserirradiation of dentinal caries are minimally invasive methodsand are less painful and thus should be more frequentlyemployed in pediatric dentistry.