Diagnodent is a new tool that has revolutionized the quality of my practice. In the future, all "cavity" (dental caries) detection will be done with this slick instrument. The Diagnodent is a laser light that shines into tooth structure identifying dental caries in their earliest stages.

Most homeowners know that if a few termites are seen in the structure of a house that thousands more are hiding. Most homeowners know that their success against termites depends on early and aggressive treatment. Treatment is only successful if all termites are eliminated.

Dental caries or "cavities" pose a surprisingly similar situation. If dental caries are allowed to progress until pain is present, significant tooth structure is lost and the tooth often requires a root canal and crown. If dental caries are allowed to progress until they are visible on examination, significant tooth structure needs to be removed to eliminate all the decay so that it will not return. Elimination of that decay usually requires an anesthetic injection, use of the dental drill, and placement of a filling. The traditional methods of detecting dental decay, namely poking into suspicious areas with a dental explorer and taking x-rays, is probably only 50-75% successful. Until recently we were forced to accept mediocre and crude methods of detecting caries and significant efforts to eliminate the caries we detected.

Diagnodent has changed all of that! Diagnodent is a laser caries detection system that works in a clever way. It shines a diode laser light into the tooth structure. The reflected light is then measured by a sensor in the tip. Light returning from normal tooth structure returns to the receptor essentially unchanged. Dental caries, however, will absorb the light differently and will emit light of a different wavelength (color) back to the receptor. This emission of different wavelength light is termed fluorescence and is similar to the process by which "lightning bugs" create light.

Diagnodent allows us to accomplish what was impossible less than a decade ago. We shine the Diagnodent laser on areas suspicious for decay and areas where decay loves to occur. This allows us to detect caries when they are small enough to repair without anesthetic injections, without dental drills, without crowns, and without high dental bills.

In a decade, Diagnodent will be available everywhere. Diagnodent is available now at Grin Dentistry.