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Imaging laser irradiated enamel surfaces with polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography
Dennis J Hsu1, Cynthia L Darling, Daniel Fried
1Department of Preventative and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, CA 94143-0758.
Proceedings of Spie--The International Society for Optical Engineering
|September 28, 2011
Summary
This study demonstrates that Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography (PS-OCT) can effectively measure caries inhibition in tooth enamel following CO(2) laser treatment, offering a non-destructive assessment method.
Area of Science:
- Dental research
- Biophotonics
- Laser dentistry
Background:
- Lasers can alter tooth enamel's surface and composition, reducing solubility.
- Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography (PS-OCT) non-destructively assesses fluoride's effect on artificial caries.
- Measuring enamel demineralization inhibition post-laser treatment is crucial for dental applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate if PS-OCT can quantify enamel demineralization inhibition after CO(2) laser irradiation.
- To compare PS-OCT measurements with established histological methods.
Main Methods:
- CO(2) laser irradiation applied to tooth enamel.
- Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography (PS-OCT) for in vivo measurement.
- Polarized light microscopy and microradiography for histological comparison.
Main Results:
- PS-OCT detected significant inhibition of demineralization after laser treatment.
- A slight increase in enamel reflectivity due to laser modification was observed.
- PS-OCT measurements correlated with histological assessments of lesion severity.
Conclusions:
- PS-OCT is a suitable tool for measuring caries inhibition following laser treatments.
- The technique provides non-destructive, quantitative assessment of laser-induced enamel changes.
- This supports the potential use of PS-OCT in evaluating novel caries prevention strategies.
