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Characterization of dental caries by LIF spectroscopy with 404-nm excitation

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Abstract

The potential of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy for the characterization of different stages of dental caries using 404-nm diode laser excitation was investigated. In vitro spectra from 16 sound, 10 noncavitated carious and 10 cavitated carious molar teeth were recorded on a miniature fibre-optic spectrometer. The areas under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC-AUC) were calculated and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed. The LIF spectra of the carious teeth showed two peaks at 635 and 680 nm in addition to a broad band seen at 500 nm in sound teeth. The fluorescence intensity ratios, F500/F635 and F500/F680, in carious teeth were always lower than those in sound teeth. The ROC-AUC for discriminating between carious and sound teeth was 0.94, and for discriminating between noncavitated and cavitated carious teeth was 0.87. Statistically significant differences (p<0.001) were seen between sound, noncavitated carious and cavitated carious teeth. The results showed that LIF spectroscopy has the potential to be useful for characterizing different stages of caries in a clinical setting.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by a grant from the CESS Plan-260 project. The authors are grateful to the Research Council (RC) of CESS and the Director of CESS for encouragement and support. S.S.T. acknowledges the RC of CESS, Trivandrum, J.J.L. the SC Department, Government of Kerala, R.J.M. the DST and CSIR, New Delhi, and A.G.N. the RC of CESS for their research fellowships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biophotonics Laboratory, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Trivandrum, India

    Shiny Sara Thomas, J. L. Jayanthi, Narayanan Subhash, Rupananda J. Mallia & G. N. Aparna

  2. Department of Dentistry, Cosmopolitan Hospital, Trivandrum, India

    Joji Thomas

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  1. Shiny Sara Thomas
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  2. J. L. Jayanthi
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  3. Narayanan Subhash
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  5. Rupananda J. Mallia
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Correspondence to Narayanan Subhash.

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Thomas, S.S., Jayanthi, J.L., Subhash, N. et al. Characterization of dental caries by LIF spectroscopy with 404-nm excitation. Lasers Med Sci 26, 299–305 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-010-0771-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-010-0771-3

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