title: Early caries imaging and monitoring with near-infrared light.
abstract: Enamel is highly transparent in the near infrared (NIR); therefore, this region of the electromagnetic spectrum is suited ideally for the development of new optical diagnostic tools for the detection and imaging of early dental caries. This article discusses the NIR optical properties of sound and demineralized dental enamel and the potential use of polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography and NIR transillumination for the imaging of dental caries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California-San Francisco, 707 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. dfried@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.forename: John D B
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Featherstone
authors.forename: Cynthia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Darling
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Patara
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ngaotheppitak
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bühler
mesh_terms: D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003732:Dental Caries Activity Tests / Q000379:methods; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D003804:Dentin / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007259:Infrared Rays; D008027:Light; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017001:Tooth Demineralization / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014172:Transillumination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods