Label-Free Nonlinear Optical Microscopy: Shedding Light on Oral and Dental Tissues

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Biomedical Imaging
• Optical Microscopy

Background:

• Nonlinear optical microscopy (NLOM) provides 3D imaging with submicron resolution.
• Autofluorescence spectro-microscopy aids in analyzing oral and dental tissues, both healthy and diseased.
• Label-free NLOM has been applied to oral and dental tissues in vivo and ex vivo.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically review studies using label-free NLOM in dentistry.
• To conduct a scientometric analysis of NLOM's 25-year trajectory in dentistry.
• To assess the potential of NLOM for diagnosing oral and dental conditions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 78 studies from 17 countries involving human and animal subjects.
• Scientometric analysis of publications over the past 25 years.
• Evaluation of techniques, specimen types, and reported insights.

Main Results:

• Second harmonic generation (SHG) was the most utilized NLOM technique (83.3%), frequently combined with other methods (68%).
• Oral mucosa and teeth were the primary imaging targets.
• Over 70% of studies provided new morphological or biochemical insights, with 34.6% yielding data for potential clinical applications.

Conclusions:

• NLOM generates reliable clinical information, especially for cancer and dental caries diagnosis.
• Challenges exist in translating NLOM findings into clinical practice.
• Integrating NLOM into clinical devices could enable noninvasive, long-term monitoring in dentistry.