Friday, March 28, 2014
The dental industry is constantly searching for ways to improve how we can diagnose and treat conditions in the oral environment. The ability to diagnose various types of oral pathology in their earliest forms is a huge benefit to both patients and dentists.
Early diagnosis allows for earlier and less invasive interventions such as remineralization therapy or a preventive resin restoration. Pairing advanced diagnostics with the ability for patients to visualize their oral health conditions creates an urgency for patients to move forward with these minimally invasive treatments. Early detection creates a powerful call to action for both the dentist and patient alike.
The dental explorer is said to have an accuracy of about 25%, and traditional radiographs have been reported to be about 68% accurate, but the tooth structure has to undergo enough damage for the lesion to become visible and by that time the patient is definitely getting a filling. These traditional lesion detection modalities are simply not capable of spotting small, early pathologies. But new technologies are now available to help clinicians locate and quantify potential problems in the gingival tissues as well as the teeth.
An intraoral digital image captured with the SoproCARE in standard “Daylight” mode.
Of course clinically identifying an issue is just the first step. A patient must understand the trouble and consent to treatment, and one of the best tools to get patients engaged emotionally with their oral health care is an intraoral camera. When a patient can see a problem, he or she becomes more emotionally involved in the situation and engaged with finding a solution. With these patients the dental team doesn’t have to sell the patient on a treatment, they only need to find a time in the schedule to restore the problem and a financial plan that works for the patient.
While there are options for lesion detection and intraoral imaging, only a handful are able to combine both technologies into a single device the way ACTEON has with the SoproCARE intraoral camera system. The SoproCARE combines the imaging prowess of a top intraoral camera with unique diagnostic illumination modes that can help identify suspected carious lesions or evaluate periodontal health.
Possible lesions are easy to spot in red when the SoproCARE is in caries detection mode.
When capturing intraoral images, it helps to have flexibility so you are able to get the specific shot you need for the case at hand. When using the SoproCARE I’m able to choose from four magnification levels so I can shoot an extraoral patient portrait or smile, or intraorally capture a full arch, a single tooth or even fine detail on a tooth surface.
Many intraoral cameras can do that, but with a combination system I can also switch to a diagnostic setting and in the case of the SoproCARE I can use 450 nm blue LED wavelength which makes potential carious lesions stand out from the healthy tooth structure in a way that is easy for not just a clinician but also for a patient to see and understand. With the SoproCARE this extra diagnostic capability goes even further with a periodontal screening setting that can provide images to help patients understand the periodontal issues discovered by their hygienists.
The SoproCARE’s Perio mode helps clinicians examine the health of soft tissues.
These diagnostic capabilities make this type of enhanced intraoral camera a more effective clinical tool, but like all intraoral cameras it still needs to be easy to use with a convenient capture button or foot pedal, plug and play USB connectivity, and imaging software compatibility.
Adding an enhanced intraoral camera such as the SoproCARE can be a boost to any dental practice as it can become a standard part of the patient examination and helping to both detect early symptoms or potential areas of concern and visually explain these issues to the patient. This level of engagement that clinicians can now have with patients is unlike anything we have ever had before.