2001 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 37-40
Diagnodent, a device for dental caries diagnosis with a laser, senses fluorescence generated from dental caries in response to light irradiated by the device, providing nondestructive real time measurement of the range and degree of dental caries. To clinically use this device, we determined how measurement was influenced by differences in the state of dryness/wetness of the tooth surface, changing the probe angle at measurement, and exogenous deposits on the tooth surface. Measurements were found to have almost no errors, even in the presence of water. It was possible to estimate the expansion of dental caries through continuous measurement with the probe tip that was being moved and inclined. However, this device markedly responded to dental calculus, indicating a need for tooth scaling before operation.
(J. Jpn. Soc. Laser Dent. 12: 37-40, 2001 Reprint requests to Dr. TAKASE)
