LED light attenuation through human dentin: a first step toward pulp photobiomodulation after cavity preparation.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the transdentinal light attenuation of LED at three wavelengths through different dentin thicknesses, simulating cavity preparations of different depths. METHODS: Forty-two dentin discs of three thicknesses (0.2, 0.5 and 1 mm; n = 14) were prepared from the coronal dentin of extracted sound human molars. The discs were illuminated with a LED light at three wavelengths (450+/-10 nm, 630 +/-10 nm and 850 +/-10 nm) to determine light attenuation. Light transmittance was also measured by spectrophotometry. RESULTS: In terms of minimum (0.2 mm) and maximum (1.0 mm) dentin thicknesses, the percentage of light attenuation varied from 49.3% to 69.9% for blue light, 42.9% to 58.5% for red light and 39.3% to 46.8% for infrared. For transmittance values, an increase was observed for all thicknesses according to greater wavelengths, and the largest variation occurred for the 0.2 mm thickness. All three wavelengths were able to pass through the dentin barrier at different thicknesses. Furthermore, the LED power loss and transmittance showed wide variations, depending on dentin thickness and wavelength.