The clinical examination of dental caries is usually conducted by visual inspection and tactile palpation in conjunction with radiographic examination. Last year, a new device for diagnosis, DIAGNOcam received pharmaceutical approval in Japan. In this apparatus, laser diode light (wavelength 780 nm) is transmitted from bone to tooth, and the images are captured by a charged-coupled device. The detection of dental caries is based on the changes in the contrast of the obtained images compared with that of healthy tooth substances. Recent reports have indicated that this new device has an advantage of no radiation exposure and is effective for caries examination of permanent dentition. However, there is little data available on its efficacy for caries examination of primary teeth. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficiency of the DIAGNOcam in caries examination of primary teeth. We analyzed eight primary teeth from four individuals, and found that the DIAGNOcam was useful for caries examination of primary teeth. However, the initial caries was not clearly identified. This clinical study revealed that the DIAGNOcam is a useful tool for caries detection in primary as well as permanent teeth.
