Tissue liquefaction and aspiration for dental treatment
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus are disclosed for liquefying target tissue within a body and aspirating the same while leaving non-target tissue intact. A biocompatible fluid is heated and contacted with target tissue so that the target tissue is melted while non-target tissue remains intact. As the target tissue is being melted it is also aspirated from the body.
1. A method for liquefying diseased dentin tissue within a body comprising the steps of:
heating a biocompatible fluid;
presenting said fluid to the diseased tissue within a surgical area so that the tissue is liquefied when contacted with said heated fluid while leaving healthy tissue intact; and
aspirating said liquefied tissue.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said fluid is saline.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the dentin tissue is the diseased tissue lying underneath a hole formed in the enamel of a tooth.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said heating step includes heating said fluid to a temperature at which temperature only the diseased tissue liquefies.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said fluid is heated to a temperature between 98.6 and 250° F.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1 further including the step of adding chemical substances to the heated fluid to facilitate liquefying the diseased tissue.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1 further including the step of irrigating the surgical area while simultaneously aspirating said liquefied tissue.
8. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of irrigating the surgical area as a portion of the diseased tissue is liquefied and aspirated and repeating said presenting, irrigating, and aspirating steps until the desired amount of said diseased tissue has been liquefied and aspirated.