Demineralization Depth Using QLF and a Novel Image Processing Software

Abstract

Quantitative Light-Induced fluorescence (QLF) has been widely used to detect tooth demineralization indicated by fluorescence loss with respect to surrounding sound enamel. The correlation between fluorescence loss and demineralization depth is not fully understood. The purpose of this project was to study this correlation to estimate demineralization depth. Extracted teeth were collected. Artificial caries-like lesions were created and imaged with QLF. Novel image processing software was developed to measure the largest percent of fluorescence loss in the region of interest. All teeth were then sectioned and imaged by polarized light microscopy. The largest depth of demineralization was measured by NIH ImageJ software. The statistical linear regression method was applied to analyze these data. The linear regression model was Y = 0.32X + 0.17, where X was the percent loss of fluorescence and Y was the depth of demineralization. The correlation coefficient was 0.9696. The two-tailed t-test for coefficient was 7.93, indicating the P-value = .0014. The F test for the entire model was 62.86, which shows the P-value = .0013. The results indicated statistically significant linear correlation between the percent loss of fluorescence and depth of the enamel demineralization.

Efficacy of different strategies in protecting enamel against demineralization during fixed orthodontic treatment

“…Über eine starke und signifikante lineare Korrelation zwischen dem mittels QLF gemessenen prozentualen Fluoreszenzabfall und der Tiefe der Schmelzdemineralisation als Grundlage für die Detektion und langfristige Überwachung von Läsionen in vitro wurde bereits berichtet [18,26,27,32]. Tatsächlich stüt-zen die plausiblen Ergebnisse dieser Studie die bereits veröffent-lichten Beobachtungen: Das Verfahren der QLF macht das Fortschreiten der Schmelzdemineralisation als eine Funktion des Fluoreszenzabfalls beobachtbar.…”

“…One such approach for characterizing enamel demineralization is to measure lesion depth in terms of percentage fluorescence loss (Δ-F in %) over time compared to baseline measurements using quantitative, light-induced fluorescence (QLF) [15,18,26,27,32], an approach based on the auto-fluorescence of teeth. Teeth illuminated with high-intensity blue light emit light in the green part of the spectrum.…”

“…Ein solcher Ansatz zur Charakterisierung der Schmelzdemineralisationen ist die Messung der Progredienz der Läsionstiefe anhand des prozentualen Fluoreszenzabfalls (Δ-F in %) im Vergleich zur Baseline-Messung mittels quantitativer lichtinduzierter Fluoreszenz (QLF; [15,18,26,27,32]), einem auf der Autofluoreszenz der Zähne beruhenden Ansatz. Zähne, die mit einem hochintensiven blauen Licht angestrahlt werden, emittieren Licht im grünen Bereich des Spektrums.…”

Evaluation of etched enamel using quantitative light-induced fluorescence

“…However, in demineralized areas, enamel lesions appear as dark spots on the fluorescence image due to increases in the scattering and diffusion of the light. By evaluating this noticeable difference in fluorescence intensity between sound and demineralized enamel, QLF has gained acceptance as a quantification system for assessing early demineralization or remineralization of enamel following various treatments [10,11].…”

Developing of QLF-D for Early Detection of Dental Caries

“…방사선 촬영은 현재 가장 널리 쓰 이는 진단 장비이지만, 방사선에 노출된다는 단점과 법랑질 우식 이 법랑질 두께 1/2이상 진행되어야만 진단될 수 있다 [10][11][12] . 최근 치아우식증의 조기 진단을 위해 여러 가지 장비들이 개 발되었으며, 현재 임상에서 활용되고 있는 장비들로는 laser fluorescence [12][13][14][15][16] , digital imaging fiber-optic trans-illumination [17][18][19][20] 와 quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) 등 1,21,22) 이 있다. .…”