Dentsply Sirona Inc.

Vdw Gmbh

Alexander Savic

Thomas Ertl

Naim Karazivan

A dental probe for determining the vitality of a tooth, comprising a light emitter and a light receiver, wherein the light emitter emits light from an emitter surface adapted to be positioned on a hard dental surface of a tooth, wherein the light receiver collects light incident on a receiver surface adapted to be positioned on a hard dental surface of the tooth so that the optical path of the light emitted from the light emitter passes at least through a portion of the pulp chamber of the tooth. The light receiver includes a light shielding spacer member adjacent to the optical path for establishing and maintaining a distance of at least 50 &#x3bc;m between the gum line and the optical path at the receiver surface. The light emitter further a light shielding spacer member adjacent to the optical path for establishing and maintaining a distance between the gum line and the optical path at the emitter surface, wherein the light shielding spacer member establishes and maintains a distance of at least 50 &#x3bc;m between the gum line and the optical path at the emitter surface, and in that an apical-coronal diameter of the light emitter surface and the light receiver surface is at most 1200 &#x3bc;m in the direction normal to the optical path.

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Munich, Germany

Alexander Savic