Numerical Simulation Analysis of Erbium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Laser-Activated Irrigation in Root Canal Therapy

Abstract

Haotian Chen, Yue Yu, Xinyu He, Chong Pan, Jizhi Zhao

Objectives: 1. To evaluate the velocity, pressure, and force in the root canal system during LAI. 2. To explore the application of numerical simulation analysis in root canal therapy studies.

Materials and methods: A simplified model of laser-activated irrigation (LAI) was established. The volume of fluid (VOF) model was used to solve the Navier-Stokes equation and standard k-ε turbulent model was used as turbulent model. The axial maximum velocity and axial force at 1 mm, 4 mm, and 16 mm away from apex, as well as the pressure at apex in10 000-time steps were calculated.

Results: The peak pressure and axial force increased with laser energy. At 1 and 4 mm away from apex, the axial maximum velocity increased with laser energy below 35 mJ, and slightly decreased from 35 mJ to 50 mJ.

Conclusions: 1. The pressure and axial maximum force at the apex will increase when the laser pulse energy increases, whereas the maximum axial velocity will increase from 10 mJ to 35 mJ and then decrease, which indicates that an optimal energy exists in clinical work. 2. VOF models are suitable for numerical simulation analysis in root canal therapy

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