Assessment of dental caries with Digital Imaging Fiber-Optic TransIllumination (DIFOTI): in vitro study

This paper describes Digital Imaging Fiber-Optic TransIllumination (DIFOTI-TM), a new method for the reliable detection of dental caries. Images of teeth obtained through visible-light, fiber-optic transillumination (FOTI) are acquired with a digital CCD camera, and sent to a computer for analysis with dedicated algorithms. The algorithms were developed to facilitate the location and diagnosis of carious lesions by the operator in real time, and provide quantitative characterization for monitoring of the lesions. The DIFOTI method has been tested by imaging teeth in vitro. The results suggest the superior sensitivity of DIFOTI for detection of approximal, occlusal and smooth-surface caries vis-à-vis radiological imaging.