Diagnodent

OKANAGAN SMILES

Diagnodent

What if tooth decay is hidden within the enamel so that it isn’t visible on a radiograph? We don’t want to wait until the decay is big enough to hurt or cause a huge cavity so we use the DIAGNOdent. This device uses laser wavelengths to shine light into the tooth and measure the reflection. Healthy enamel surfaces will have low readings and no audible beeping, whereas decay hidden in the tooth creates higher readings and an audible sound that increases according to the severity of the decay.

DIAGNOdent is one of the most effective means of identifying decay, with 90% accuracy (X-rays have 67% accuracy in comparison). In fact, the technology has been proven to be able to detect nine out of ten cavities. Even the tiniest of pits, crevices, or cavities can be monitored and examined. This ability to detect invisible decay allows our doctors to monitor your tooth’s progress of decay over time and treat it early enough to ensure the greatest amount of the original tooth structure can be preserved.

This tool has surprised us many times, finding extensive decay in otherwise normal-looking teeth which, when explored, is actually much bigger than what was indicated on the radiographs or visible on the surface of the tooth! By using this tool, we are able to target and treat tooth decay in predictable ways before it turns into more complicated problems.