Soprolife Optical Cavity Detection System

Light.

For most of our lives, we live in a realm of "white light", which is the entire visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum.  Yet the white light we see is a very small portion when you consider the entire range:

 
Interesting things happen when we use just a very small portion of this spectrum to accomplish a particular goal.  The key concept here is that any given portion of the spectrum, any wavelength of light/energy, interacts with the medium in which it travels in different ways.  Light traveling through the vacuum of interstellar space travels faster than light traveling in our atmosphere, which in turn travels faster than light traveling through seawater.  Or Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select Kentucky Bourbon.

We can see the effects of the interaction of light in various media even in common things around us, such as the diffraction of light between air and water:

 

I remember reading some interesting things about this over the years.  For instance, when our Navy submarines dive deep, it's very difficult to commumicate with the surface because seawater blocks most forms of electromagnetic radiation pretty thoroughly.  It turns out, though, that a certain wavelength of green laser light, as well as extremely low frequency radio waves (ELF waves!), can get information through to the briny deeps.  So ELF is used, and submarine captains can get new orders, but they come through very slowly.  The bit-rate is like the Internet in 1996 or so, when primitive dial-up reigned. 

In dentistry, light is used for many things.  For over one hundred years, X-rays have been used to "see through" structures in the mouth and look for a dizzying array of pathologies: cavities, root canal infections, bone loss due to periodontal disease, cysts, tumors...  Judicious use of X-rays is of incalculable diagnostic value to us as we strive to achieve and maintain oral health in our patients.

Our Trimira Identifi 3000 makes intelligent use of soft tissue fluorescence in the early detection of oral cancer and other conditions in the mouth:

 

 

Now, there is a new way to examine teeth with light and expand our diagnostic abilities when it comes to cavities, which still qualify for that ugly word "scourge" in our carb-saturated society.  The Soprolife Light Induced Fluoroescence Evaluator (I would have preferred the term "Bat-Light" and hung the device on my trusty Utility Belt but you can't have everything) is new technology that we have incorporated into our practice for the purpose of early detection of cavities.

Here is the Soprolife device:

 

 

And here is a shot of the light that emanates from the device in Caries (Cavity) Detection Mode:

 

How does it work?  Well, it turns our that light at a wavelength of precisely 450 nm (nanometers, in the bluish part of the spectrum diagrammed above) that enters a tooth excites the dentin, the inside structure of teeth.  And you thought science was often boring...  Dentin fluoresces green when it's healthy.  When there's a cavity, it fluoresces a rather angry red.  Here' s a diagram of the effect:

 
 

Here, then, are some images from actual practice in our office.

This is one of my own premolars.  I'm all green and thus cavity-free in the grooves on the biting surface of my tooth:

 

Molars often have deeper grooves, and we see that effect here with just a hint of reddish hue in my molar; this is not a cavity:

  

Here is an early occlusal cavity (in the surface grooves of a molar) showing in deep red (not my tooth anymore):

 
Here is an early cervical cavity (at the gumline):

 

 This photo is of recurrent decay around a composite resin restoration:

 

Lastly, we often worry about the health of teeth under crowns when time passes and the gums recede away from the margin, or edge, of the crown.  The exposed root can be very prone to decay.  This photo reassures us that the tooth is indeed healthy and has no cavity in the visible areas.  The patient may wish to replace this old crown for appearance reasons, but does not have any obligation to due to decay.

 

Overall, we are very happy to have the Soprolife Bat-Cavity Detection Light as part of our high-tech wizardry that enhances the diagnosis and treatment of you, our treasured patients.

 

 

 

Comments

[Emory Lanzi]

Yeah, dentists around here have that kind of sophisticated equipment. It's a bit expensive, but truly useful in quick diagnostics. It can see all the things the human eye can't see. It's such a wonderful tool.