Ability of optical coherence tomography to detect caries beneath commonly used dental sealants

The onset and progression of early tooth decay is often preventable with dental sealants. However, occasionally decay progresses underneath the sealant. Current technology does not permit monitoring of potential lesion progression or arrest. Dental sealants themselves mask the visual cues that identify early tooth decay, and radiographs are not sufficiently sensitive. Therefore, clinicians can be reluctant to use dental sealant. The objective of this ex vivo study was to evaluate the ability of dentists to detect decay beneath commonly used dental sealants using optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging.