JKACD Journal of Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry J Korean Acad Conserv Dent 1225-0864 2093-8179 The Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry 10.5395/JKACD.2011.36.5.367 jkacd-36-367 Review Article Early caries detection using optical coherence tomography: a review of the literature ParkYoung-SeokDDS, MSD, PhDAssistant Professor1 ChoByeong-HoonDDS, MSD, PhDProfessor2 LeeSeung-PyoDDS, MSD, PhDAssociate Professor1 ShonWon-JunDDS, MSD, PhDAssociate Professor2* Department of Oral Anatomy, Seoul National University School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul, Korea Department of Conservative Dentistry, Seoul National University School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul, Korea Correspondence to Won-Jun Shon, DDS, MSD, PhD., Associate Professor, Department of Conservative Dentistry, Seoul National University School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, 28, Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea 110-768, TEL, +82-2-2072-3514; FAX, +82-2-2072-3859; E-mail, endoson@snu.ac.kr 092011 14092011 365 367376 17072011 19082011 21082011 Copyright © 2011 The Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry 2011 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract

Early detection of carious lesions increases the possibility of treatment without the need for surgical intervention. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging three-dimensional imaging technique that has been successfully used in other medical fields, such as ophthalmology for optical biopsy, and is a prospective candidate for early caries detection. The technique is based on low coherence interferometry and is advantageous in that it is non-invasive, does not use ionizing radiation, and can render three-dimensional images. A brief history of the development of this technique and its principles are discussed in this paper. There have been numerous studies on caries detection, which were mostly in vitro or ex vivo experiments. Through these studies, the feasibility of OCT for caries detection was confirmed. However, further research should be performed, including in vivo studies of OCT applications, in order to prove the clinical usefulness of this technique. In addition, some technological problems must be resolved in the near future to allow for the use of OCT in everyday practice.

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The general scheme of an interferometric OCT setup. The linear polarizer and the polarizing beam splitter in parenthesis are equipped in PS-OCT. OCT, optical coherence tomography; PS-OCT, polarization-sensitive OCT. This illustration was partly modified with permission from the original one of Wojkowski12 by courtesy of Optical Society.