| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carious tooth detecting apparatus which can detect even an early carious tooth with subsurface demineralization even though the intensity of fluorescence emitted from a carious part is extremely small compared to that of fluorescence emitted from a healthy part of the carious tooth. SOLUTION: The carious tooth detecting apparatus comprises an irradiating means 10 for emitting light of a predetermined wavelength to a tooth, a filter 14 for sorting out the wavelengths of light emitted from the tooth, a photographing means 15 for converting the light passed through the filter to an electric signal, and an image displaying means 16 for displaying the status of the tooth as image information using the photographing means. The filter 14 cuts out light having wavelength components of the light emitted from the irradiating means 10. More particularly, the filter 14 removes reflected light having the wavelength of the emitted light and passes only the fluorescence having an excitation wavelength longer than that of the irradiated light from among the light emitted from the tooth having an early carious part. With such a configuration, even an early carious part is displayed and detected as a dark spot on an image even though the intensity of fluorescence emitted from the early carious part is extremely small compared to that of fluorescence emitted from a healthy part. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
|
