Soundwaves could soon be used to identify the early stages of decay, a process that often relies on the use of painful and damaging probes, say Australian researchers.
PhD researcher, David Hsiao-Chuan Wang from the University of Sydney and colleagues, report their findings in the most recent issue of the journal Optics Express .
"We want to be able to be able to quantify mineral content of the dental enamel," says Wang, whose research was supervised by Professor Simon Fleming.
Tooth decay begins by acid-forming bacteria eating away at the enamel, causing minerals to leach from it, softening and weakening the tooth.
Dentists can sometimes identify this demineralisation by seeing a change in the colour of the tooth, or by looking at x-rays.
Other times, they use sharp probes that test the hardness of the enamel and find where the rot has set in.
Unfortunately these probes can be painful and cause unnecessary damage to the teeth.
PhD researcher, David Hsiao-Chuan Wang from the University of Sydney and colleagues, report their findings in the most recent issue of the journal Optics Express .
"We want to be able to be able to quantify mineral content of the dental enamel," says Wang, whose research was supervised by Professor Simon Fleming.
Tooth decay begins by acid-forming bacteria eating away at the enamel, causing minerals to leach from it, softening and weakening the tooth.
Dentists can sometimes identify this demineralisation by seeing a change in the colour of the tooth, or by looking at x-rays.
Other times, they use sharp probes that test the hardness of the enamel and find where the rot has set in.
Unfortunately these probes can be painful and cause unnecessary damage to the teeth.
Less invasive
Wang and colleagues are developing a less invasive new technique to measure mineral content of teeth, using sound waves generated by laser pulses.
"We can keep the laser power below a damaging threshold," says Wang.
Laser pulses aimed at the tooth set up a series of high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) that travel through the enamel surface, penetrating it to different depths.
As a soundwave moves through a demineralised part of the tooth, it changes its speed, and this can be detected.
Each soundwave penetrates to different depths of the enamel, depending on its wavelength, enabling a profile of the tooth to be built up, showing where decay has begun.
Wang and colleagues first tested the system on different known materials before testing it on extracted human teeth.
They have yet to test the system on teeth in patients. They first need to develop a convenient handheld device and obtain ethics permission to trial it in humans.
Wang says a prototype of the hand-held device could be ready in two years.
Professor Ian Meyers of the Australian Dental Association says testing the technique in the mouth is important, as saliva affects the property of teeth enamel.
Meyers, who is based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, says when decay is detected early, fillings can be avoided by either stopping the demineralisation through better oral care.
Alternatively, he says, the tooth can be re-mineralised using products specifically designed for this purpose.
Wang and colleagues are developing a less invasive new technique to measure mineral content of teeth, using sound waves generated by laser pulses.
"We can keep the laser power below a damaging threshold," says Wang.
Laser pulses aimed at the tooth set up a series of high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) that travel through the enamel surface, penetrating it to different depths.
As a soundwave moves through a demineralised part of the tooth, it changes its speed, and this can be detected.
Each soundwave penetrates to different depths of the enamel, depending on its wavelength, enabling a profile of the tooth to be built up, showing where decay has begun.
Wang and colleagues first tested the system on different known materials before testing it on extracted human teeth.
They have yet to test the system on teeth in patients. They first need to develop a convenient handheld device and obtain ethics permission to trial it in humans.
Wang says a prototype of the hand-held device could be ready in two years.
Professor Ian Meyers of the Australian Dental Association says testing the technique in the mouth is important, as saliva affects the property of teeth enamel.
Meyers, who is based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, says when decay is detected early, fillings can be avoided by either stopping the demineralisation through better oral care.
Alternatively, he says, the tooth can be re-mineralised using products specifically designed for this purpose.
Other methods
Meyers says the new research shows scientific evidence that sound waves can be used to detect mineral change in teeth.
Mineral content can already be measured using a different method, called quantitative light fluorescence. Another method called laser fluorescence can be used to detect bacteria in the teeth, says Meyers.
wang says the new technique could add to the range of tools available for dentists to identify early stages of decay, as long as it is affordable.
He says the ultrasound technique will be particularly useful in research, especially in evaluating the effectiveness of remineralisation treatments.
Meyers says the new research shows scientific evidence that sound waves can be used to detect mineral change in teeth.
Mineral content can already be measured using a different method, called quantitative light fluorescence. Another method called laser fluorescence can be used to detect bacteria in the teeth, says Meyers.
wang says the new technique could add to the range of tools available for dentists to identify early stages of decay, as long as it is affordable.
He says the ultrasound technique will be particularly useful in research, especially in evaluating the effectiveness of remineralisation treatments.
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