Methods for Monitoring Erosion Using Optical Coherence Tomography.
Since optical coherence tomography is well suited for measuring small dimensional changes on tooth surfaces it has great potential for monitoring tooth erosion. The purpose of this study was to explore different approaches for monitoring the erosion of enamel. Application of an acid resistant varnish to protect the tooth surface from erosion has proven effective for providing a reference surface forin vitrostudies but has limited potential forin vivostudies. Two approaches which can potentially be usedin vivowere investigated. The first approach is to measure the remaining enamel thickness, namely the distance from the tooth surface to the dentinal-enamel junction (DEJ). The second more novel approach is to irradiate the surface with a carbon dioxide laser to create a reference layer which resists erosion. Measuring the remaining enamel thickness proved challenging since the surface roughening and subsurface demineralization that commonly occurs during the erosion process can prevent resolution of the underlying DEJ. The areas irradiated by the laser manifested lower rates of erosion compared to the non-irradiated areas and this method appears promising but it is highly dependent on the severity of the acid challenge.
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0758.
Kenneth H
KH
Chan
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0758.
Andrew C
AC
Chan
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0758.
Cynthia L
CL
Darling
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0758.
Daniel
D
Fried
carbon dioxide laser; caries prevention; erosion; optical coherence tomography