Looking into Teeth with Ultrasound

Lees, Sidney; Barber, Frank E.

doi:10.1126/science.161.3840.477

Cited by 38 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…Noninvasive methods such as ultrasonic imaging or acoustic microscopy (Baum et al, 1963;Lees, 1968Lees, , 1971Lees and Barber, 1968;Peck et al, 1989;Yang, 1991Yang, , 1996Mezava et al, 1999;Maev et al, 2000Maev et al, , 2002 and radiography have been employed to quantify tooth enamel thickness. Although acoustic microscopy has been used in several clinical studies of enamel and dentine, the accuracy of the quantitative data obtained has yet to be established.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the accuracy of dental enamel thickness measurements using microfocal X‐ray computed tomography

2006

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Tooth enamel thickness has long been an important character in studies of primate and especially hominin phylogeny, taxonomy, and adaptation. Current methods for accurately assessing enamel thickness involve the physical sectioning of teeth, because measurements of enamel thickness using some radiographic techniques are unreliable. However, because destructive methods limit sample sizes and access to important fossil specimens, it is desirable that they be replaced with nondestructive techniques. Although microfocal X-ray computed tomography (mCT) has been used recently in studies of enamel thickness, the accuracy of this technique has yet to be established. The present research compares physical sections to computer-generated mCT sections of teeth from a variety of primate and nonprimate, recent and fossil taxa to examine whether enamel thickness, tooth size, and diagenetic remineralization (fossilization) impact the ability of mCT to measure enamel thickness accurately. Results indicate that recent teeth of varying size and thickness are clearly and accurately depicted in mCT scans, with measurements from nearly identical planes in physical and mCT sections differing by 3-5%. A fossil papionin molar (ca. 2 Myr) was also accurately measured using mCT scans, although thinner enamel in much older therapsid (ca. 263-241 Myr) teeth could not be distinguished from dentine. mCT is thus an accurate technique for measuring enamel thickness in recent taxa, although heavily mineralized teeth pose an obstacle to the ability of mCT to distinguish dental tissues. Moreover, absolutely thin enamel (less than ϳ 0.10 mm) is difficult to resolve adequately in raw mCT images based on pixel values alone. Therefore, caution must be exercised in the application of mCT to the study of fossilized teeth. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: mCT; microfocal X-ray computed tomography; enamel thickness; measurement accuracy; diagenesis; dental enamel; dentine Tooth enamel thickness has long been considered to be of importance in the interpretation of human evolution because of its purported taxonomic and phylogenetic value

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confidence: 99%

Assessment of the accuracy of dental enamel thickness measurements using microfocal X‐ray computed tomography

2006

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“…However, after the initial papers by Kossoff and Sharpe 2 and Lees and Barber, 3,4 this thread of investigation seems to have been abandoned. 5 Currently, in clinical and investigative dentistry, ultrasound is used for the detection of approximal caries, assessment of the periodontal space, surface imaging of periodontal bony defects and measurement of enamel thickness, and in the differentiation of periapical lesions, determination of gingival thickness and monitoring of periapical healing after endodontic surgery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visibility of dental pulp spaces in dental ultrasound

Szopiński¹,

Regulski²

2014

Dentomaxillofacial Radiology

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The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of dental ultrasound with conventional sonographic equipment. The teeth of three adult volunteers who had cone beam CT examinations performed previously with clinical indications and one extracted tooth were examined using linear and compact (hockey stick) sonographic probes. The sonographic images were compared with cone beam CT images reconstructed accordingly. Dental pulp spaces were demonstrated in all teeth not covered with prosthetic crowns. The dentin and pulp were best visualized at the level of the neck of the teeth. The dentin was hypoechoic, and the superficial layer comprising the cementum and the pulp spaces were hyperechoic. Dental ultrasound is feasible with general purpose sonographic machines. The buccal surfaces of all teeth are accessible with a compact (hockey stick) probe. Visualization and differentiation of dental pulp spaces, dentin and the superficial layer comprising cementum is possible in the portions of teeth not covered by the alveolar bone or prosthetic crowns. The dental pulp spaces are best seen at the level of the tooth neck. Pulp and endodontic fillings can be distinguished on ultrasound.

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“…Most work [12,16,17] has been carried out using conventional thickness gauges that operate at frequencies up to 15 MHz, thus limiting enamel thickness measurements to layers thicker than 0.5 mm. …”

Section: Time Domain Layer Thickness Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lees & Barber [12] established the feasibility of determining enamel thickness and tooth structure using acoustic echoes on extracted bovine teeth. The acoustic coupling, however, was achieved by grinding a flat on the tooth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of ultrasonic direct contact, immersion, and layer resonance methods for assessment of enamel thickness in teeth

Dwyer-Joyce

Goodman

Lewis

2010

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J:

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Wear of dental enamel is a growing problem, but is clinically difficult to diagnose and monitor. An accurate and easy to use non-destructive method for the measurement of enamel thickness would be useful for early diagnosis of enamel loss and for monitoring progression. Ultrasound has been identified by several researchers as a potential tool suitable for enamel thickness measurement. However, in-vitro studies have shown that whilst the method is feasible it suffers from wide variability. The methods proposed to date rely on the measurement of the time of flight of an ultrasonic pulse through the enamel layer. This requires the operator to locate the enamel dentine junction. In this work three methods are evaluated to try to reduce this variability and investigate some practicalities of the approach. Time of flight methods using both contact and immersion transducers were used. Immersion transducers gave the most accurate results, within 10 to 15% of values deduced from tooth sections, but would be harder to arrange for invitro measurements. Preliminary studies have also shown that it is possible to achieve a resonance in the enamel layer and measure thickness that way. Whilst this approach needs further experimental refinement it has the potential to be used for much thinner enamel layer thicknesses.

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Looking into Teeth with Ultrasound

Cited by 38 publications

References 3 publications

Assessment of the accuracy of dental enamel thickness measurements using microfocal X‐ray computed tomography

Assessment of the accuracy of dental enamel thickness measurements using microfocal X‐ray computed tomography

Visibility of dental pulp spaces in dental ultrasound

A comparative study of ultrasonic direct contact, immersion, and layer resonance methods for assessment of enamel thickness in teeth

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