DOI: 10.1007/s10765-005-2373-z International Journal of Thermophysics, Vol. 26, No. 1, January 2005 (© 2005) Open Photoacoustic Cell Technique as a Tool for Thermal and Thermo-Mechanical Characterization of Teeth and Their Restorative Materials 1 J. L. Pichardo-Molina, 2,3 G. Gutiérrez-Juárez, 4 R. Huerta-Franco, 5 M. Vargas-Luna, 4 P. Cholico, 6 and J. J. Alvarado-Gil 7 The thermal diffusivity and thermal expansion coefficient of teeth and three of their most common restorative materials (Amalgam Phase Alloy, Ionomer Fuji II LC, and Resin 3MFPITEK Lutine TM Z250) were studied by means of the open photoacoustic technique. These results were then used as a basis for the theoretical simulation of the photothermal process taking place as a consequence of modulated illumination of a two-layer system formed by the tooth and the restorative material. The model accounts for the coupling of thermal waves and thermoelastic vibration in the two-layer system. KEY WORDS: photoacoustic technique; teeth; thermal properties; tooth restorative materials. 1. INTRODUCTION Although health care is one of the most important issues in our soci- ety, attention is frequently paid to the body’s esthetic appearance instead. 1 Paper presented at the Fifteenth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 22–27, 2003, Boulder, Colorado 80303 2 Centro de Investigaciones en ´ Optica A. C., Loma del Bosque 115, Col. Loma del Campestre, C. P. 37150 Le´ on Gto., M´ exico. 3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jpichardo@cio.mx 4 Instituto de F´ ısica de la Universidad de Guanajuato, A. P. E-143, C. P. 37000, Le´ on Gto, M´ exico. 5 Instituto de Investigaciones sobre el Trabajo, Universidad de Guanajuato, Avenida Eugenio Garza Sada No. 572, Lomas del Campestre, 37150 Le´ on Gto., M´ exico. 6 Dpto. de Cl´ ınicas Odontol ´ ogicas Integrales, Universidad de Guadalajara, Jos´ e Maria Echaury y Juan D´ ıaz Covarrubias, C. P. 44280 Guadalajara, Jal. M´ exico. 7 Departamento de F´ ısica Aplicada, CINVESTAV-Unidad M´ erida, Carretera Antigua a progreso, Km. 6, Cordemex, M´ erida, 97310 Yucat´ an, M´ exico. 243 0195-928X/05/0100-0243/0 © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.