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. 2010 Apr;42(4):292-8.
doi: 10.1002/lsm.20913.

In vivo near-IR imaging of approximal dental decay at 1,310 nm

Michal Staninec  1 , Chulsung Lee, Cynthia L Darling, Daniel Fried
Affiliations

In vivo near-IR imaging of approximal dental decay at 1,310 nm

Michal Staninec et al. Lasers Surg Med. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: The high transparency of dental enamel in the near-IR (NIR) light at 1,310-nm can be exploited for imaging dental caries without the use of ionizing radiation (X-rays). We present the results of the first in vivo imaging study in which NIR images were acquired of approximal contact surfaces.

Methods: NIR imaging hand-pieces were developed and attached to a compact InGaAs focal plane array and subsequently used to acquire in vivo NIR images of 33 caries lesions on 18 test subjects. The carious lesions were discernible on bitewing radiographs, but were not visible upon clinical examination.

Results: NIR images were acquired in vivo from three directions and the majority of lesions examined were too small to require restoration, based on accepted bitewing radiograph criteria. All but one of the 33 lesions examined were successfully imaged from at least one direction.

Conclusion: This first in vivo study of imaging at the 1,310-nm wavelength region shows that NIR imaging has great potential as a screening tool for the detection of approximal lesions without the use of ionizing radiation.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
System for NIR imaging including InGaAs camera and specialized probes with NIR fiber-optic light delivery and imaging optics. Images are displayed on the monitor and video is stored on a digital video reorder at 8-bit resolution.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Probe end for imaging approximal and occlusal lesions from the occlusal surface. Teflon optical diffusers in two arms (A) direct the NIR light to the gingival tissues on the buccal and lingual side of the tooth (B) which diffuses up to the mirror (C) and the camera.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
In vitro occlusal images taken using the probe shown in Figure 2. Near-IR image of sound tooth, note uniform ring of high intensity around the dentin at the center (A) and tooth with occlusal caries lesions, the dark regions (B).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Probe end for imaging approximal lesions from the facial or lingual contact. Light travels from Teflon diffuser (A) through tooth (B) to mirror/camera (C).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
In vitro approximal lesion imaged from the faciallingual orientation. (A) Visible light image of teeth and (B) near-IR image with the lesion indicated by the arrow.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
In vivo image of a class III anterior approximal lesion (A) taken from the facial–lingual aspect using the probe of Figure 4, along with the radiograph (B).
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Radiograph (A) and in vivo NIR images of two small lesions taken from the facial (B) and lingual (C) views using the probe shown in Figure 4. The boxes demarcate the position of the lesions in each image. The opaque areas represent amalgam restorations.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Radiographs and in vivo NIR images of two approximal lesions, one small (A,B) and another severe (C,D) taken from the occlusal surface using the probe shown in Figure 2. The boxes demarcate the position of the lesions in each image.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jones RS, Huynh GD, Jones GC, Fried D. Near-IR trans-illumination at 1310-nm for the imaging of early dental caries. Opt Expr. 2003;11(18):2259–2265. - PubMed
    1. Bühler CM, Ngaotheppitak P, Fried D. Imaging of occlusal dental caries (decay) with near-IR light at 1310-nm. Opt Expr. 2005;13(2):573–582. - PubMed
    1. Fried D, Featherstone JDB, Glena RE, Seka W. The nature of light scattering in dental enamel and dentin at visible and near-IR wavelengths. Appl Opt. 1995;34(7):1278–1285. - PubMed
    1. Jones RS, Fried D. Lasers in dentistry VIII. SPIE; San Jose: 2002. Attenuation of 1310-nm and 1550-nm laser light through sound dental enamel; pp. 187–190.
    1. Darling CL, Huynh GD, Fried D. Light scattering properties of natural and artificially demineralized dental enamel at 1310-nm. J Biomed Opt. 2006;11(3):034023, 034021–034011. - PubMed

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