RESEARCHERS PRESENT KEY FINDINGS ON DETECTION OF CARIES AROUND THE MARGINS OF AMALGAM RESTORATIONS USING FOUR TECHNOLOGIES
Quantum Dental Technologies presented findings of a study last week at the 63rd Congress of the European Organisation for Caries Research (ORCA) in Athens Greece. This study found that The Canary System® can detect caries under the intact margins of amalgam restorations more accurately than Spectra, DIAGNOdent and visual examination.
Finding caries beneath intact amalgam margins is a challenging clinical problem because of the nature of the material. Amalgam is dense, radiopaque and reflects light from its surface. The study found that visual examination could not detect caries. The glow or fluorescence from the amalgam prevented Spectra from detecting any marginal caries. DIAGNOdent was unable to consistently differentiate sound from carious tissue at various distances from the amalgam margins. It was able to detect between 45% - 74% of the lesions beneath the amalgam depending upon the distance from the margin. The Canary System was able to detect 95% of the lesions around the amalgam margins. This study demonstrated that The Canary system is a valuable diagnostic tool for detecting caries that develop around and beneath the margins of amalgam restorations.
“The Canary System provides dentists with the ability to detect and monitor tooth decay beneath the edges of fillings, crowns and bridges; one of the most common clinical conditions that would lead to the failure of these restorations. X-Rays can only aid clinicians to diagnose decay on the sides or interproximal areas of teeth. When an amalgam is placed, x-rays can only detect tooth decay in certain limited areas and not along its visible margins”, said Dr. Stephen Abrams, co-founder of Quantum Dental Technologies. “Early detection of tooth decay, before it is seen on an x-ray or detected with visual inspection means that dentists can treat problems before the decay has destroyed large amounts of vital tooth structure.”
The Canary System, with its unique crystal structure diagnostics, allows oral health professionals to detect, image, track and monitor tooth decay on all tooth surfaces, beneath opaque sealants, around the margins of restorations and detect cracks in teeth. The accompanying Canary Cloud (www.thecanarycloud.com) enables dentists to view and manage this data in an online environment, track Canary usage in the office, and keep up-to-date on Canary products and clinical news. With The Canary System, caries detection is not simply shining a light on a tooth surface but it’s about gathering accurate information on the status of the tooth’s crystal structure and then storing it to allow ongoing analysis and monitoring.