A Changing Caries Model 

Due to advent of Fluoride in public water supplies, cavities have gone “underground.”  Fluoride makes the surface enamel harder so “Starter Cavities” that once began on the tooth’s surface have now migrated below the surface of the enamel where it is difficult for dentists to find them. Now, a minute stain in the grooves of a tooth may be the only sign of a problem. Our cavity detecting laser - diagnodent - allows us to determine if stains are something more serious than is apparent.  

Proven Clinical Results 

Before we decide to fix a cavity, we need to be certain that serious tooth decay exists.The DIAGNOdent^® laser cavity detector removes the doubt from treatment decisions regarding hidden cavities or questionable stained grooves. The following case studies demonstrate the DIAGNOdent’s^® diagnostic advantage over conventional methods: 

 

X-rays 

X-rays also have limitations as a tool for certain diagnosis. They can identify larger areas of decay, but small sub-surface cavities are rarely seen on X-rays. 

 

What is DIANOdent^® and how does it work? 

DIAGNOdent^® uses laser technology to detect and quantify hidden cavities by measuring how the laser light reacts to the surface of the tooth. Laser light will pass right through healthy enamel, but it will be reflected back to a light meter by tooth structure that has decayed.

 

• The device operates at a wavelength of 655nm. At this specific wavelength, clean healthy tooth structure exhibits little or no fluorescence, resulting in very low scale readings on the display.

Decay and bacteria will fluoresce. The DIANOdent^® will react with elevated scale readings on the display.

An audio tone allows the dentist to hear changes in the scale value. 

The DIANOdent^® is an extremely accurate, reliable and non-invasive method to aid in caries detection.  The device has been awarded the Seal of Acceptance by the American Dental Association, is successfully used by more than 18,000 dental professionals in the United States and in integrated into the curriculum by a growing number of dental schools.