Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Early enamel caries on the smooth surface is the subsurface demineralization limited in the enamel with an intact surface. It is difficult for routine clinical methods to make a definite diagnosis of early caries.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the histological characteristics and detecting methods of early enamel caries on the smooth surface, and the progress of quantitative assessment by optical coherence tomography.
METHODS: Literatures about quantitative assessment of early caries on the smooth surface based on optical coherence tomography from CNKI and EBSCO HOST databases published from 1979 to 2011 were searched by the first author. The key words were “optical coherence tomography, early caries, smooth surface, quantitative assessment” both in English and Chinese. Papers published recently or in authoritative journals were selected. Totally 78 documents were initially searched and 31 included in this review.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The new technology, optical coherence tomography, which can image the demineralized enamel through detecting the back scatter signals and quantify early enamel caries with the parameters such as depth, reflectivity and attenuation coefficient, provides a new evidence to the diagnosis of early enamel caries.