Keeping A Healthy Smile
Laser Can Find Cavities Early
BOSTON, Updated 6:47 p.m. EDT September 19, 2000 --
Dentists are using a new technology that can detect a weakness in a tooth before
it becomes a cavity. That could mean no more Novocain shots and no more drills.
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Laser Cavity Detector
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Diagnodent
The device is a compact diode laser used to
identify areas of tooth decay that traditional means, including
X-rays, miss.
Diagnodent shines a laser beam down into the
tooth, to a depth of 2.5 mm.
The device is aimed into the grooves of teeth,
providing a decay reading to the dentist.
Deborah Manos, DDS
Diagnodent is used by Dr. Deborah Manos.
To schedule an appointment, call
(313) 884-4010
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NewsCenter 5's Heather Kahn reports that Diagnodent is a new
laser which finds hard-to-spot areas of tooth decay.
"It puts out a laser beam down into the tooth, and that light
reflects back towards the laser," Dr. Tom Orent of the Center for Esthetic
Dentistry said. "If there's decay, there's a change in the wavelength. You get a
reading from zero to 100 and are able to tell not only where the decay is, but
how deep it is, how much decay there is."
Orent said that regular dental exams and X-rays can miss as much
as three-quarters of decay. One Swiss study showed that dental exams using a
pick detected 57 percent of problems, while Diagnodent caught 90 percent of
decay.
"Certainly we'll see decay if it's large, but it's too late,"
Orent said. "At that point, you're looking at a very difficult restoration, a
large filling or in some cases even root canal."
By
catching the decay early, dentists have a number of tools that can get rid of
it, without Novacaine or drilling. Other dentists say that more research is
needed before Diagnodent is used in most dental offices, but they do agree that
the technique is an exciting adjunct to X-rays and examination.
"The thing I like about it and is promising is that it is not
invasive," Dr. Fred Boustany of Boston Dental said. "It provides object
measurement of the decay inside the tooth."
That's good enough to keep patient Rosemary Casey smiling.
"I think it's great, because you want to keep your teeth as long
as you can," Casey said.
Diagnodent is FDA-approved.
