Cross-polarization ratio analysis of digital speckle patterns applied to teeth demineralization diagnosis

Abstract

We propose using the cross-polarization ratio (CPR) of the digital speckle pattern as a parameter to detect enamel erosion. We applied such analysis to successfully detect enamel erosion caused by teeth demineralization. The speckle patterns were produced using an in vitro study in human teeth where the erosion was produced artificially by acid attack. Our result is a proof of principle of the viability to apply CPR in the characterization of enamel erosion, which can be a powerful instrument for early diagnosis of teeth demineralization. This approach proved to be very sensitive to variation in speckle patterns compared with other traditional speckle patterns analyses.