Cold light probe

X-ray-free caries diagnosis

The development of caries is an insidious process and dental defects are difficult to detect at an early stage. Then there is the fact that caries often forms in the interdental spaces, which we cannot even see.
This is why we use the cold light probe or the digital X-ray to determine caries – always with the aim of detecting caries as early as possible.
However, we can avoid X-rays by using fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI).

The FOTI technique means that we direct cold light into the tooth using a probe. The structure of a healthy tooth has a specific way of refracting light. In areas where there is caries, the structure changes and therefore the refraction of light as well. This enables us to make hidden caries areas visible to the eye at an early stage and in the interdental space, to observe their progress or to treat them.