Abstract
Tooth loss impairs mastication, deglutition and esthetics and affects systemic health through nutritional deficiency, weight loss, muscle weakness, delayed wound healing, and bone fragility. Approximately 90% of tooth loss is due to dental caries and periodontal disease. Accordingly, early treatment of dental caries is essential to maintaining quality of life. To date, the clinical diagnosis of dental caries has been based on each dentist’s subjective assessment, but this visual method lacks objectivity. To improve diagnostic ability, highly sensitive quantitative methods have been developed for the diagnosis and prevention of dental caries and are gradually becoming a mandatory item in modern dentistry. High-resolution Raman spectroscopy is a suitable tool for recognizing the subtle structural changes that occur in dental enamel in already developed or, more importantly, incipient dental caries. Raman analysis could soon emerge as a breakthrough in dentistry because of its high diagnostic sensitivity. In this study, we build upon our previous findings in a new analysis of dental caries using Raman spectroscopy imaging and discuss the possibility of using Raman photonic imaging in support of objective diagnostics in dentistry. Our findings support the Raman method of caries detection in comparison with other conventional or new approaches.
Highlights
Raman spectroscopy is an analytical method that consists of irradiating a sample with a visible laser source, determining the type and condition of the substance based of the characteristics of the Raman scattered light that is generated
The present study proposes to utilize Raman spectroscopy as an alternative radiation-free method that is superior in sensitivity to laser fluorescence (LF)
Case 3 represented a different pattern of vertical fracture of the dentin in the mesial view
Summary
Raman spectroscopy is an analytical method that consists of irradiating a sample with a visible laser source, determining the type and condition of the substance based of the characteristics of the Raman scattered light that is generated. Since Raman spectroscopy allows analysis at the molecular level without requiring fluorescent probes, fixation, or other types of manipulation, it has recently received attention for its potential applications in several fields of medical science, including dentistry [1]. Various methods of dental analysis using Raman spectroscopy have recently been reported, such as the detection of trace elements in the enamel [2] and the detection of dentin formation in the dental pulp tissue [3]. Raman spectroscopy as a means of diagnosing dental caries has long been considered difficult. The reason for this is that the sites of dental caries generate fluorescence noise that exceeds the Raman light and varies according to measurement site and configuration. The combination of Raman spectroscopy with optical coherence tomography and fluorescence subtraction methods using multichannel lock-in detection have been reported in order to avoid fluorescence interference [4,5]
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