To diagnose at an early stage pathological changes that prove difficult to detect, initial lesions, de-mineralizations, and changes affecting the tooth enamel, KaVo DIAGNODENT is very useful. Patients can receive far less invasive therapy with maximum tooth preservation.

KaVo DIAGNODENT has a laser diode that provides pulsed light of a defined wave length that is directed onto the tooth. When the incident light meets a change in the tooth substance, it stimulates fluorescent light of a different wave length. This is translated through the hand piece into an acoustic signal, and the wave length is then evaluated by an appropriate electronic system in the KaVo DIAGNODENT unit.

Benefits

--Improved diagnosis in the fissure area

-Caries monitoring. With the application of KaVo DIAGNODENT, it is possible to document the various stages of caries development, without having to subject the patient to repeated X-ray exposure.

2. Toothpaste and aphthous ulcers.

According to a new study from the University of Oslo in Norway, patients who are prone to recurrent aphthous ulcers may be aggravating them with the toothpaste they use. The culprit, researchers suggest, could be sodium lauryl sulfate, a standard detergent agent in toothpastes. Although the Oslo scientiss recommended further study, experts suggest that people who suffer from aphthous ulcers may find relief in SLS-free toothpaste.

Pyrophosphate, a substance added to tartar control tooth paste, may prevent mineral deposits in skeletal joints that lead to arthritis, says David Kingsley, Ph.D., a Stanford developmental biologist.

Pyrophosphate is added to tartar control toothpaste because of its potent ability to inhibit mineral deposits found in calculus.

Kingsley and his group identified a gene that makes and distributes pyrophosphate and they think that this gene uses the same principle to protect the articulate cartilage in the joints.

Sixty percent of persons with osteoarthritis, the most common joint disease show mineral deposition in cartilage. Normally minerals don’t get deposited there. There is a debate whether mineral deposits are simply a secondary consequence of joint damage or a cause.

Kingsley’s work suggests the deposition process is an important contributor to arthritis.