Detect Caries Earlier Using Safe, Near-Infrared Light

Detect Caries Earlier

Early caries detection is beneficial to any dentist’s practice because it guarantees a less invasive corrective procedure and greater longevity of the tooth during a patient’s lifetime.

With the Near-Infrared (NIR) Transillumination technology, the tooth enamel appears transparent, making a clearer image possible to assist in the practice of early caries detection.

The NIR Transillumination technology incorporated into the CariVu by DEXIS is advanced and reliable—allowing for the earlier detection of interproximal caries while providing a non-ionizing radiation alternative.

This technology, for detection of occlusal, interproximal, and recurrent caries and cracks, offers an image instead of numbers, colors, codes, and sounds.

But perhaps the greatest advantage is the accuracy that comes along with this technology. When compared to other methods, the CariVu is reliable and effective and has a detection rate of 99%. Not only is the CariVu dependable, but its accuracy makes this method trustworthy. Relying on visual inspection, which has a 2% accuracy rate, or bitewing x-ray and its 96% accuracy rate, is not the most efficient practice. Research shows that it is at the top its class.

The NIR Transillumination early caries detection has become a powerful and reliable diagnostic aid that helps a dentist determine when to restore.

NIR carries detection has few limitations and is oftentimes more accurate than radiographic imaging methods  and digital photographs. In a case by William J. McKibben, DDS, the CariVu image shows darkness on the mesial crossing the dentinoenamel junction, indicating caries, while the bitewing radiograph shows no signs of caries. After opening the tooth, the decay was indeed there.