On the sensitivity of thermophotonic lock-in imaging and polarized Raman spectroscopy to early dental caries diagnosis

Nima Tabatabaei, Andreas Mandelis, Mehdi Dehghany, Kirk H. Michaelian, Bennet T. Amaechi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dental caries is the leading cause of tooth loss, which can promptly be prevented if detected in early stages of progression. Unfortunately, conventional diagnostic modalities currently used in dentistry lack the sensitivity to detect early caries. The authors' intention is to compare the ability of polarized Raman spectroscopy and thermophotonic imaging to make early caries diagnosis. Extracted human teeth with no visible stain or defects were artificially demineralized in accordance to a well-known protocol in dentistry for simulated early caries development at several demineralization stages. Samples were then inspected using polarized Raman spectroscopy and thermophotonic imaging. The sensitivities of these two diagnostic modalities are compared, and the results are verified using transverse micro-radiography. It was found that compared to polarized Raman spectroscopy, thermophotonic imaging exhibits superior sensitivity to very early stages of demineralization.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number025002
JournalJournal of biomedical optics
Volume17
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2012

Keywords

  • demineralization
  • dental caries
  • early caries detection
  • polarized Raman spectroscopy
  • thermophotonic lock-in imaging

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomaterials

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