Device That Sees Invisible Dental Plaque - Health - Dental Care

An award-winning dental device developed by the University of Liverpool's team of scientist can now detect plaque and tooth decays before its symptoms can be seen to the naked eye. The technology was called iDENTifi which uses QLF (Qualitative Light Induced Fluorescence) that captures images in the mouth using special filters and blue light. This allows the plaque and cavities to be visible to the human eye. The captured images can then be transferred to other media, computer, or even a smart phone so that it can be diagnosed and evaluated by a dentist.The best thing about the tool is that it can immediately see early stages of plaque and cavities without the need of dental dyes. This definitely is a step ahead in the early identification of culprits inside the mouth which leads to dental caries or tooth decay. Early detection of plaques and cavities considerably saves the tooth from further damage and even saves the individual from invasive dental procedures that involve surgery and tooth extraction. Moreover, it prevents people from spending on expensive dental procedures such as dental implants which could cost hundreds to thousands of dollars just to replace a single tooth.The device iDENTifi has been found to be useful to check for plaque especially even when there is orthodontic appliance or tool inside the mouth. It checks for something left behind during dental cleaning. Dr. Sue Higham from the Department of Health Services Research and School of Dentistry has also noted the device's commercial potential which makes it possible for the product to be widely accepted as a healthcare product among dental professionals.Dental caries or tooth decays is one of the most common diseases that more than 55% of people around the world suffer from. When plaque is not detected and removed immediately, the accumulation becomes thick eliminate which will then lead to oral diseases such as bleeding gums or gingivitis and eventually to tooth decay. To oth decay also affect around 77% of the children aged 8 to 15 years old which naturally becomes a worry for parents as most of these children at this young age already have their permanent teeth.This device will surely be a significant tool in eliminating tooth decay and oral diseases that are also attributed to coronary heart diseases as found in some studies. The development of iDENTifi has also been made possible through the collaboration with the Inspektor Research Systems BV. But this noteworthy discovery was incubated over 10 years ago when the team originally wanted to develop dental SLR cameras with the QLF technology.