Research on optical properties of dental enamel for early caries diagnostics using a He-Ne laser

A new and non-invasive method adapted for optical diagnosis of early caries is proposed by researching on the interaction mechanism of laser with dental tissue and relations of remitted light with optical properties of the tissue. This method is based on simultaneous analyses of the following parameters: probing radiation, backscattering and auto-fluorescence. Investigation was performed on 104 dental samples in vitro by using He-Ne laser (λ=632.8nm, 2.0±0.1mW) as the probing. Spectrums of all samples were obtained. Characteristic spectrums of dental caries in various stages (intact, initial, moderate and deep) were given. Using the back-reflected light to normalize the intensity of back-scattering and fluorescence, a quantitative diagnosis standard for different stages of caries is proposed. In order to verify the test, comparison research was conducted among artificial caries, morphological damaged enamel, dental calculus and intact tooth. Results show that variations in backscattering characteristic changes in bio-tissue morphological and the quantity of auto-fluorescence is correlated with concentration of anaerobic microflora in hearth of caries lesion. This method poses a high potential of diagnosing various stages of dental caries, and is more reliability to detect early caries, surface damage of health enamel and dental calculus.