Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
The use of transillumination in detecting subclinical extensions of enamel opacities
1Université de Monastir, Restorative Dentistry Department, University Hospital Sahloul, Sousse, Tunisia.
Objective:
Accurate detection of enamel opacities in reflected light is limited in terms of discriminating between affected and unaffected enamel. The aim of this study was to compare the ability of transilluminated photography in distinction between healthy and unhealthy enamel in comparison with reflected photography.
Materials And Methods:
Patients presenting enamel opacities were selected during their regular dental visits and for each tooth, standardized photographs were taken in transmitted and reflected light. For each lighting condition, the ratio of the opacity surface area to the entire buccal enamel area was calculated. The difference in the ratio of the opacity surface area to the entire buccal enamel area was compared using the Wilcoxon paired test.
Results:
The results of this study showed that the ratio of the opacity surface area to the entire buccal enamel area calculated in transilluminated photography is significantly higher in comparison with its calculation in reflected photography. The means ratios (SD) of the opacity to the entire buccal enamel area are in transmitted light and reflected light respectively 18% (12) and 15% (11).
Conclusions:
In comparison with reflected photography, transilluminated photography significantly increases the ratio of the opacity surface area to the entire buccal enamel area. Transilluminated photography allows better detection of enamel opacities on anterior teeth by aiding clinical discrimination between healthy an unhealthy enamel.
Clinical Significance:
Being simple, noninvasive, painless and without any risk to the patient, transillumination represents a promising imaging method for detecting enamel opacities and for discriminating healthy and unhealthy enamel.
Related Concept Videos
Detection of Gross Error: The Q Test
Detection of Black Holes
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Difference from Background: Limit of Detection
The LOD indicates the presence or absence...
Effects of EDTA on End-Point Detection Methods
In the visual method, metal-ion indicators (metallochromic dyes), which have distinct colors in their free and complex forms, are added to the mixture to signal the titration's end point. They form stable complexes with metal ions, but these complexes are weaker than the corresponding metal–EDTA complexes. As a...
Types of Errors: Detection and Minimization
Absolute error in a measurement is the numerical difference from the true or central value. Relative error is the ratio between absolute error and the true or central value, expressed as a percentage.
Errors can be classified by source, magnitude, and sign. There are three types of errors: systematic, random, and gross.
Systematic or...
Precipitation Titration: Endpoint Detection Methods
In the Volhard method, a standard excess of AgNO3 is first added to the...

