National Research Council of Canada

University of Manitoba

Dalhousie University

Blaine Cleghorn

Mark Hewko

Lorenzo Leonardi

Lin-P'ing Choo-Smith

Cecilia Dong

Alex C T Ko

Early dental caries detection is carried out by a method that combines optical coherence tomography (OCT) and Raman spectroscopy to provide morphological information and biochemical specificity for detecting and characterizing incipient carious lesions found in extracted human teeth. OCT imaging of tooth samples demonstrated increased light back-scattering intensity at sites of carious lesions as compared to the sound enamel. Raman microspectroscopy and fibre-optic based Raman spectroscopy are used to characterize the caries further by detecting demineralization-induced alterations of enamel crystallite morphology and/or orientation. OCT imaging is useful for screening carious sites and determining lesion depth, with Raman spectroscopy providing biochemical confirmation of caries. The combination is incorporated into a common probe operable without movement to scan the tooth surface and to provide an output for the dentist.

Detection and monitoring of changes in mineralized tissues or calcified deposits by optical coherence tomography and Raman spectroscopy

Growing community of inventors

Bedford, Canada

Blaine Cleghorn