BlueCheck: See Sooner, Treat Smarter

No dentist wants to feel like a salesperson when discussing treatment. That’s why any tool that helps “show” rather than “tell” patients about their oral health is a valuable addition to the operatory. For Dr. Abraham Jaskiel, that tool was the BlueCheck caries detection aid, which he recently used in his Miami, FL, dental office.

“For years, one of my patients was not convinced he had decay,” Dr. Jaskiel recalled. “But after applying BlueCheck and showing him the results, he scheduled the treatment.”

Seeing Really Is Believing

Once applied to clean teeth, BlueCheck reversibly binds to surface and subsurface porosity associated with active caries lesions, turning affected areas blue. This visual cue helps reveal early-stage demineralization that may not show up on an x-ray, enabling clinicians to take a more proactive and persuasive approach to prevention. It also boosts patient education by making the invisible suddenly visible.

“I was able to definitively show patients their cavities in a quick and painless way,” Dr. Jaskiel said. “They were generally very open to the concept because they could see with their own eyes that the decay was being stained, not healthy tooth structure. That meant I spent less time explaining and didn’t come across as if I was just ‘selling’ treatment. Seeing really was believing.”

Even for patients with good oral health habits, BlueCheck is a powerful visual motivator. “I was recently told that I had an area of decay, and I was hesitant to get a fi lling done since I had not had a cavity in 25 years,” said Amber Metro-Sanchez, RDH, BA. “But once I saw the area with the BlueCheck applied, I was fully on board with getting it removed. It is quite convincing and hard to ignore!”

Improving Home Care Habits

Noting that patients are always excited by “new technology,” Dr. Christopher McGonigle successfully used BlueCheck in his Burlington, MA, practice to alter dietary habits in his teenage patients.

“It opened the door for discussion of more preventive measures and greater enlistment by the patient,” he added. “Showing patients their incipient and current lesions is motivational, and we saw changes in home care as a result.”

“BlueCheck forces patients who think they do a thorough job in their home care to realize they are missing specific areas of debridement,” said Dr. Andrew Mogelof, adding that it provided a clear and compelling need for greater diligence with daily oral care. "Several longtime patients transformed from being somewhat in denial to accepting a high level of responsibility for their maintenance issues," he added.

Amir Noori Esfandiari, DDS, agreed. “It is very helpful with older patients who insist they brush very well,” he said. “It’s a great visual tool with a distinct color to help detect caries lesions and ultimately ease the discussion with patients regarding prevention and treatment options.”

Early Diagnosis Is Key

Early caries detection and diagnosis allow treatments to commence sooner, which drives faster repair of enamel damage. Options like silver diamine fluoride, fluoride varnish, and scaffolds can be applied at the same time as diagnosis.

“I love the visual explanation BlueCheck provides,” noted Melanie Davis, RDH, BSDH, MEd. “I would start to explain it to the patient, and they already had it figured out and were ready to take action. It’s great to have on hand for the skeptical patient—it makes the demineralization jump right out at you.”