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The effect of wavelength, bandwidth, and probe design and position on assessing the vitality of anterior teeth with laser Doppler flowmetry
Author(s) -
Roebuck E.M.,
Evans D.J.P.,
Stirrups D.,
Strang R.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of paediatric dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.183
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1365-263X
pISSN - 0960-7439
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-263x.2000.00194.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dentistry , anterior teeth , laser doppler velocimetry , incisor , maxillary central incisor , orthodontics , blood flow , radiology
Objectives . To investigate the effect of four variables: wavelength (633 nm and 780 nm), bandwidth filter (3 kHz, 15 kHz, 22 kHz), probe fibre separation (250 μm and 500 μm) and distance of the probe from the gingival margin (2–3 mm and 4–5 mm) when assessing the vitality of anterior teeth with a laser Doppler flowmetry system. Design . Split‐mouth cohort clinical trial. Setting . Childrens dental clinic, Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. Sample and methods . Sample included 11 non‐vital maxillary incisors with necrotic pulps in 10 patients (mean age 12·25 years old). Recordings were taken from the non‐vital tooth and from a vital maxillary incisor from the same patient, using all 24 combinations of the recording variables listed above. The vital/non‐vital ratios of the signals from the 11 pairs of teeth were calculated and discriminant analysis applied to the data. Results . Of the variables investigated, the combination of a 633 nm laser source with a 3 kHz bandwidth filter using a probe with a 500 μm fibre separation placed 2–3 mm from the gingival margin was the most reliable, with 10 out of a possible 11 true positives for pulpal necrosis, no false positives and one equivocal diagnosis, and was the only combination that recorded a smaller blood flow from the non‐vital tooth compared with the vital control tooth for all 11 pairs of teeth investigated. Conclusions . It was concluded, therefore, that laser Doppler flowmetry can be of use in assessing the vitality of anterior teeth and that this is the preferred combination of recording variables for further investigations.