To achieve this goal, the dental care that you and your family receive in our office always includes state of the art equipment. Among these technologies is a small laser instrument called the DIAGNOdent, which scans your teeth with harmless laser light searching for hidden decay.

Locating hidden decay before it destroys tooth structure (from the inside out) is a major goal for modern dentistry. The widespread use of fluoride supplements in dental materials, toothpastes and drinking water has made tooth surfaces harder and more resistant to decay. However, diagnosing cavities beneath the hard surfaces is more challenging because the disease process can start through microscopic defects in the hard surface enamel and can readily spread into the softer tooth structure beneath the surface.

X-rays and probing with an explorer are limited in detecting sub surface decay, particularly when the cavity is in its early stages. Fortunately, laser cavity detection is a major breakthrough that allows Dr. Ochev to monitor the areas below the hard surfaces.