Subgingival calculus imaging based on swept-source optical coherence tomography

J Biomed Opt. 2011 Jul;16(7):071409. doi: 10.1117/1.3602851.

Abstract

We characterized and imaged dental calculus using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). The refractive indices of enamel, dentin, cementum, and calculus were measured as 1.625 ± 0.024, 1.534 ± 0.029, 1.570 ± 0.021, and 2.097 ± 0.094, respectively. Dental calculus leads strong scattering properties, and thus, the region can be identified from enamel with SS-OCT imaging. An extracted human tooth with calculus is covered with gingiva tissue as an in vitro sample for tomographic imaging.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Dental Calculus / chemistry
  • Dental Calculus / diagnosis*
  • Dental Calculus / pathology
  • Dental Caries / diagnosis
  • Dental Cementum / chemistry
  • Dental Enamel / chemistry
  • Dentin / chemistry
  • Gingiva / pathology
  • Humans
  • Refractometry / instrumentation
  • Refractometry / methods
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / instrumentation
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / methods*