Trying to assess the size of an area of tooth decay is a major clinical challenge. Visually, the area may appear as a white or brown spot but what is going on beneath the surface? The Open Dentistry Journal has just published a study entitled “Correlation with caries lesion depth of The Canary System, DIAGNOdent and ICDAS II (https://opendentistryjournal.com/VOLUME/11/PAGE/679/FULLTEXT/ ). The study found that The Canary System measures caries lesion depth more accurately than visual examination (using ICDAS II ranking) or DIAGNOdent.
The picture below (one of the samples in the paper) shows a typical white spot on a tooth surface. There is no black or brown stain and the tooth surface is intact. The Canary System measurement of 55 indicated that a large lesion was beneath the enamel surface. When cross-sectioned and examined under the microscope, this simple white spot was up to .5 mm. in depth in certain areas, yet the surface appeared intact. 
Visual examination and x-rays should not be the only tools used for detecting tooth decay. X-rays can only find tooth decay on the sides of teeth once it has grown to involve at least ½ of the enamel shell. The Canary System can measure lesion volume and depth and measure subtle changes over time. “This moves dentistry from the drill, fill and bill model to treating caries from the start of the disease process. The Canary System is the only device on-market that can measure and monitor these subtle changes,” said Dr. Stephen Abrams, co-founder of Quantum Dental Technologies.
The Canary System, with its unique crystal structure diagnostics, can, quantify, image, monitor and record changes in the structure of enamel, dentin and cementum. It can detect caries beneath opaque sealants, around the margins of restorations, around orthodontic brackets and beneath interproximal, occlusal and smooth surfaces. The Canary Cloud enables dentists to view and manage this data and track Canary usage in their office.
Visit www.thecanarysystem.com or email sales@thecanarysystem.com to request additional information.
