Book excerpt: Biophotonics in dentistry is a rapidly growing area. Unlike other books, this invaluable compendium touches on the fundamental areas in biophotonics. Contributed by world-renowned authors, it provides a basic understanding on a range of topics for individuals of different backgrounds to acquire a minimum knowledge of research and development in biophotonics. The chapters are arranged in two major categories. The first describes the fundamental aspects of photonics, such as photomechanics, biomedical imaging, lasers and laser-tissue interaction, spectroscopy and photodynamic therapy. The second details the applications of biophotonics, with special relevance to dentistry, including dental photobiomechanics, Raman spectroscopy and dental tissue optics./a