| The DIAGNOdent pen is a new hand-held laser caries detection aid that provides the same high detection accuracy as the DIAGNOdent. Sub-surface caries lesions can be extremely difficult to detect using an explorer. Altered tooth substances and bacteria fluoresce when they are exposed to a specific wavelength of light. The DIAGNOdent operates at a wavelength of 655 nm. At this specific wavelength, clean healthy tooth structure exhibits little or no fluorescence, resulting in very low scale readings on the display. However, carious tooth structure will exhibit fluorescence, proportionate to the degree of caries, resulting in elevated scale readings on the display of the DIAGNOdent. An audio signal allows the operator to hear changes in the scale values. This enables the focus to be on the patient, not solely on the device. |
