Diagnodent
Diagnopen is a diagnostic laser used for examining tooth decay quickly, painlessly and without damaging tooth tissues and for detecting early pathological changes in hard tissue structures on marginal, occlusal and smooth surfaces. These changes concern centers of demineralization and changes in enamel and dentine, early decay changes of the decay-spot type, both on smooth surfaces and in tooth grooves.
Diagnodent allows to differentiate the reversible changes from the irreversible ones, and to control the marginal tightness of fillings. Early detection enables to minimize invasive decay treatment and retain as many tooth tissues as possible. High effectiveness of the device (about 90%) allows to detect even the smallest defects, e.g. demineralization centers or early stages of decay. For comparison, the effectiveness of other diagnostic methods, as far as detecting early stages of decay is concerned, amounts to: a mirror and a bougie – 12%, an x-ray photo – 15-45%.
Demineralized dental tissue and bacteria start to emit fluorescence radiation (with a wavelength from 650 to 800 nm) when subjected to irradiation of light (with wavelength from 550 to 670 nm). Diagnodent works with the use of light (with a wavelength 655 nm). Irradiation is conducted by the laser from which a ray is sent through the fiber-optic cable to the tip. Demineralized dental tissue starts to emit
fluorescence. The fluorescence is then detected by the tip and sent to the photosensitive cell where its interpretation takes place. The result is displayed on the screen and also provided in the form of an acoustic signal – so they can also be monitored by the patient.
