Sep 04 2009
Groundbreaking dental device will spare you the drill
A Toronto-based dental technology company has created a device that can shift dentistry from drilling and filling to early detection and prevention.
The Canary Dental System uses a safe, low-power handheld laser to detect very small areas of tooth decay.
Created by University of Toronto Professor Andreas Mandelis and dentist Dr. Stephen Abrams, with support from Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), this laser is non-invasive and incredibly accurate. It can detect tooth decay a fraction of a millimetre in depth and up to five millimeters below a tooth’s surface.
This gives dentists a chance to halt or reverse the early stages of decay with re-mineralization techniques which are far less invasive, expensive and painful than needles and fillings.
Quantum was formed painlessly when Dr. Mandelis found himself in Dr. Abrams’ dentist chair, discussing conventional dental methods. Dr. Abrams was frustrated with the reactive approach dentists took when dealing with cavities, especially with younger patients.
“It was so annoying to treat cavities rather than prevent them,” said Dr. Abrams. “My thoughts evolved from ‘Why do I need to wait until it’s become a large filling that can be detected and fixed,’ to ‘What if we found it early enough so that we can re-mineralize it?’”
Currently undergoing clinical testing, the Canary Dental System should be market-ready by this fall, and that should give dentists and patients something to smile about.
- News Canada
Related posts:
- Uses Of Laser Dentistry
- Shopping for a Dentist Drill
- Everything You Need to Know About Cavities – Part II
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