Give me a laser!

We've got a laser cavity scanner! And its great. It simply uses a laser light
to look into a tooth and it can tell if the structure of the tooth has changed, such as with tooth decay. The reason its great is because a simple dental probe can't see, it can only feel, so it cannot detect any problems below the surface of the tooth. Decay can often be detected way before anything shows up on x-ray, so problems can be treated early often without the need for anaesthetic! The laser cavity scanner can also give a reading so any suspicious areas can be monitored. It's a bit more scientific than a sharp metal pointy stick.

Results published by Dr. Lussi of Berne University (on the Kavo website) showed that dentists correctly diagnosed problem areas by visual inspection in only 57% of all cases. The same group achieved an impressive success rate of 90% with the Diagnodent (laser cavity scanner). Not bad eh! especially if it saves your tooth from the ravages of decay.