Diagnodent Finds Hidden Decay

The Diagnodent is a laser that can detect a cavity through the enamel of your tooth. It is very accurate, totally painless, and one of the coolest pieces of equipment we use.

How the Diagnodent works

The laser (which is emitted from the wand) vaporizes the bacteria within the grooves of the tooth and then uses these vapors for analysis. The Diagnodent then assigns a numeric readout to indicate how much decay is in the tooth. The higher the number, the deeper the decay. It is really just that simple.

Why the Diagnodent is Necessary Now

Over the past 50 years dentistry has changed a lot. There are several reasons for this change but the most important one is the introduction of fluoride. With fluoride in drinking water, tooth paste, and dental offices, the enamel (or top layer) on our teeth is very hard and strong so it is difficult for cavities to start.

The second layer down is called dentin. Since the fluoride doesn't help make dentin stronger or harder, cavities typically start in this layer. Before fluoride was used, the enamel was not so strong and cavities would start there, on the top layer of the tooth, and they were easy to detect.

The "Old Fashioned" Explorer Stick Test is Only 50% Accurate

All dentists use a sharp instrument called an explorer to check for cavities in the enamel layer. We were all taught that if you place the explorer on the tooth and apply some pressure, one of two things will happen:

1. If the explorer sticks in the tooth, most dentists would agree that there is a cavity.

2. If there is no stick, most dentists would say that there is no cavity.

Recently there was a study done to see how accurate the "explorer stick" test actually is. The results were amazing. The researchers found that testing a tooth with an explorer was only 50% successful. Half the time the use of an explorer was wrong.