The purpose of this study was to evaluate the structural change of root surface and the occlusion of dentinal tubule following CO₂ laser treatment. Seven extracted healthy human premolar werw curetted, sectioned, and four specimens were randomly assigned to each of 6 different treatment groups : 1) untreated EDTA etched control; 2) root plande only; 3) CO₂ laser treated with 2W mode 6(10msec/pulse, 20pps) for 1 minute; 4) CO₂ laser treated with 2W mode 6(10msec/pulse, 20pps) for 2 minutes; 5) CO₂ laser treated with 2W mode 7(20msec/pulse, 20pps) for 1 minute; 6) CO₂ laser treated with 2W mode 7(20msec/pulse, 20pps) for 2 minutes.

Following the prescribed treatment, the specimens were prepared for SEM evaluation. Results showed that CO₂ laser may be effective to occlude dentinal tubules tor dentin sensitivity treatment. The effect of dentinal tubule occlusion was enhanced with increasing the total energy level lased to specimen regardless of lasing mode. The structural changes of root surfaces were restricted to superficies, and these changes included fissuring, charring, crater formation over the smooth lava like texture. The charring and crater formation implying root damage was observed in the case of the longer duration of a pulse. The results of the present study suggests that the pulsed CO₂ laser with shorter pulse duration and longer exposure time can be used effectively in order to obtain the optimal dentinal tubule occlusion with minimal root damage.