Early stage dental caries detection using near infrared spatial frequency domain imaging

Early stage dental caries can be remineralized without the need for “drill-and-fill” treatments that are more invasive and less permanent. However, early stage caries lesions typically present as a white spot on a white background, resulting in many lesions only being identified after they have developed beyond the point of remineralization as cavities. We present a spatial frequency domain imaging technique to characterize the optical properties of dental tissue. This technique enables different dental tissue types (healthy enamel, healthy dentin and damaged or demineralized enamel) to be easily distinguished from one another and allows quantification of the reduced scattering coefficients of dental tissue. The use of near-infrared light at 850 nm allows high depth penetration into the tissue and suppression of absorption effects, ensuring only changes in the reduced scattering coefficient that result directly from demineralization of enamel are observed and simplifying the analysis method. This technique provides a tool to both guide the attention of dentists to areas of interest and potential demineralization, and to provide longitudinal quantified assessments to monitor caries lesion behaviour over time.