The Calcivis story - enamel caries activity assessment from technology to practice.

The Calcivis story is one of innovation and collaboration to deliver new technology capable of helping dentists improve patient care through solving an unmet clinical need in assessing the activity of caries lesions in enamel. Presently, there is no system routinely used in dental practice that can, in a single visit, determine whether a non-cavitated caries lesion is active or not. Calcivis has evolved since 2005, when a potential link between basic science in luminescence and differentiating initial-stage caries lesions that are actively demineralising and likely to progress, from other lesions which are inactive and currently do not need interventive care, was recognised. The 16-year journey has involved clinical academic dentists, scientists and entrepreneurs, general practitioners and their patients, together with serial investors and a core team working to patent, refine, assess and develop products to submit to regulatory approval and take to the international dental market. This journey has been made possible through effective long-term collaborations between disparate groups all sharing a common vision for the possibilities of harnessing new technology to help dental professionals provide better care for their patients.

Defining dental caries for 2010 and beyond.

This introductory article provides an overview of the caries disease process that will help guide readers into the world of evidence-based caries management in the beginning of the twenty-first century and help them understand the ongoing need to update in this field. This issue of Dental Clinics of North America provides clinically relevant reviews, full of chair-side recommendations based on best available evidence, on epidemiology, nomenclature, disease process, and management. A glossary of common terms in cariology is included.

Relationship between electrical resistance measurements and microradiographic variables during remineralization of softened enamel lesions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between electrical resistance (ECM) measurements and microradiographic variables during remineralization of softened enamel lesions. Sound bovine enamel blocks were demineralized and, subsequently, were remineralized for 3, 4, 5, 7 or 14 days. All the specimens were assessed by ECM and transversal microradiography. The mean ECM values in each group increased after remineralization. The ECM values after remineralization (ECM1), mineral loss (DeltaZ) and maximum mineral content in the surface layer (V(max)) were significantly correlated with the remineralization time. The ECM1 values were also significantly correlated with DeltaZ and V(max). It is suggested that ECM could be used as a device to monitor mineral accumulation as a result of preventive treatment in vitro. However, it may take a much longer time to follow up the remineralization changes compared with demineralization.

Development of high-resolution real-time sub-ppb ethane spectroscopy and some pilot studies in life science.

We describe a high-resolution real-time spectroscopy system targeted to ethane gas with sensitivity > or = 70 ppt and response time from > or = 0.7 s. The measurement technique is based on a mid-IR lead-salt laser passing through a Herriott cell through which a gas sample flows. We compare wavelength scanning and locked configurations and discuss their relative merits. The technology has been motivated by clinical breath testing applications, ethane being widely regarded as the most important breath biomarker for cell damage via free-radical-mediated oxidative attack. We discuss preliminary human and animal studies in which ultrasensitive real-time ethane detection offers new diagnostic and monitoring potential.