Dental Products Report - February 2009 - (Page 52)

CLINICAL 360° TECHNOLOGY THE TAKE-AWAYS State-of-the-art caries detection devices are far more effective than explorers. Early detection allows more treatment options for infected teeth and better results for patients. The new standard in caries diagnosis Advances in caries detection technology are changing dentistry to make early diagnosis and preventive treatment the standard of care. by D R . JOHN FLUCK E THE TEAM Bringing together a variety of voices for the best advice and big ideas. TEAM MEMBERS Dr. John Flucke (Lead) Dr. Bill Busch Dr. Chris Kammer Dr. Joyce Warwick THE SET-UP “One of the things that I love the most about our profession is it is always changing. In fact, that’s one of our missions here at Dental Products Report; to keep you up to date on all the latest techniques and devices that can improve your quality of care. Caries detection technologies certainly fall into that category. This article reviews several of these devices that can offer your patients better outcomes than previous standards of care.” — DR. JOHN FLUCKE, TEAM LEAD ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Flucke, DDS, is Technology Editor for Dental Products Report and dentistry’s “Technology Evangelist.” He blogs about technology and life at blog.denticle.com. I’M The products that appear in conjunction with this article are for illustrative or informational purposes only. Their inclusion does not denote endorsement by the author of this article. proud to say (and I’m sure you are, too) there are few, if any, procedures done in my o ce that are still being done the way I was taught in dental school in the late 80s. However, I’d be willing to bet there are a lot of you doing at least one thing the same way you were taught in dental school. In fact, you’re doing it the same way it was taught in the 60s and even earlier. It’s a procedure referred to as “The Sharp Explorer Diagnosis.” The sharp explorer diagnosis is basically the process of detecting carious lesions by identifying the softened tooth structure. When the sharp explorer “sticks” there is evidence of breakdown, and therefore, evidence of a carious lesion. However, there are problems with relying solely on the explorer. The explorer will stick in a very cavitated lesion, but it will give no indication in early stages of decalci cation, when the tooth could potentially be remineralized. In addition, there are concerns the explorer may inoculate healthy areas with caries transferred from another tooth. There also are concerns of accuracy. One study I’m aware of showed the sharp explorer as successful in detecting caries only 25% of the time. Obviously, any diagnostic regimen that fails to detect disease 75% of the time falls far short of the high standards of our profession. enamel when viewed under certain wavelengths of light. The latest in caries detection devices expose the tooth to speci c wavelengths and then measure the results to indicate the amount of tooth structure change detected. The greater the amount of change detected, the greater the amount of caries present. Read on for a review of some of these amazing diagnostic instruments. WEB EXCLUSIVE AURAVue clear pit and ﬁssure sealant and sealer can be used with caries detection devices. For details, check out “A clear diagnosis” at dentalproductsreport.com. Beyond explorers Wouldn’t it be a great service to your patients to be able to find decay at its earliest stages? There are ways to detect enamel and dentin breakdown far earlier than with the explorer. In my o ce, diagnosis is performed with Orascoptic’s HiRes™ Plus 4.8X magni cation loupes (orascoptic.com), auxiliary lighting on the loupes such as Orascoptic’s Zeon® LumenArc™ or HighQ Dental’s Ray LED (highqdental.com), and state-ofthe-art diagnostic tools that allow the doctor to detect, monitor and treat caries at stages well below the threshold of the sharp explorer. How is this possible? Carious or decalcified tooth structure is readily identif ied as different from healthy DIAGNOdent—KaVo The DIAGNOdent is a 655 nm diode laser. However, it is not a laser that can cut or ablate tissue. It is more in the family of red laser pointers. When caries is DIAGNOdent uses laser fluorescence to detect and determine the degree of caries development. Top photo courtesy of Jeanne Godett, RDAEF, RDHEF DENTALPRODUCTSREPORT.COM | February http://blog.denticle.com http://www.orascoptic.com http://www.highqdental.com http://www.dentalproductsreport.com/ http://www.dentalproductsreport.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Dental Products Report - February 2009

Dental Products Report - February 2009 Contents From the Editor 10 Questions Product Watch Clinical 360° Is This Your Nightmare? Place Predictable Posterior Restorations The New Standard in Caries Diagnosis Veraviewepocs 3De Retreatment Decisions Soft Tissue and Periodontal Diagnosis The Importance of Immunization Products in Practice How to Up Your Caries Detection Game A Team of Experts SurgiTel Oakley Loupes Snap-On Smile Word of Mouth

Dental Products Report - February 2009

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