The research has been published by Laser Physics Letters.
Early diagnosis of caries and enamel microcracks is of great importance for the prevention of tooth diseases. Russian physicists have suggested a laser-induced fluorescent diagnostics method to cope with the problem. Teeth are treated with a special compound after which they are exposed to laser radiation.
"Our experiments involved the use of a laser electronic spectro-analyser and a fluorescence video imaging system. A model compound for the preliminary enamel treatment included aluminium phthalocyanine in the form of nanoparticles (nAlPc) and Protelan MST-35 (sodium myristoyl sarcosinate and sodium methyl cocoyl taurate; both are widely used in makeup and kinds of toothpaste)," Prof. Viktor Loshchenov of MEPhI told RIA.
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Statistical analysis of the results revealed a statistically significant difference between the k dc (coefficient of diagnostics contrast) of the studied groups. It has been concluded that the method could be very useful in stomatology for detecting microcracks on the surface of "healthy" teeth.