Diagnodent Diagnosis
DIAGNOdent Decay/Caries Detector
Diagnodent early decay detector. This device is designed as an adjunct to a traditional oral examination for the detection of decay in the biting surfaces of molar & premolar teeth. Teeth that one might suspect are decayed because they have staining or discolouration in the pits & fissures (ie the wrinkles on the biting surfaces of back teeth that help mash up food when chewing) are ideal candidates to use the diagnodent on as these areas are almost impossible to detect decay in with an x-ray unless the cavity is already huge.
Key Benefits
Diagnodent detecting decay. A laser examination tool for the early detection of cavities. Even very small lesions can be detected at the earliest stages. Over 90% accurate
Earlier treatment by placing a tiny sealant restoration ensures a developing cavity is “nipped in the bud” & doesn’t develop into something larger. Treating these tiny cavities with air abrasion is quick, painless & almost non invasive ensuring that the structural integrity of the tooth is retained –
Decay detected using Diagnodent. Cavity restored using air abrasion technology & flowable composite
Learn more about this by clicking this link to Air Abrasion
Diagnodent is a pen-like probe that sends a safe, painless laser beam into the tooth. A numeric display & alarm signals when there are signs of hidden decay. The Diagnodent is able to find cavities that other dental instruments can miss.
How it works
The Diagnodent device measures laser fluorescence within the tooth structure. As the incident laser light is propagated into the site, two-way hand-piece optics allows the unit to simultaneously quantify the reflected laser light energy. At the specific wavelength that the device operates (655 nm), clean healthy tooth structure exhibits little or no fluorescence, resulting in very low scale readings on the display. Carious tooth structure exhibits fluorescence, proportionate to the degree of caries, resulting in elevated scale readings on the display.