Abstract

Diagnosing teeth with vital pulp by temperature measurement may provide valuable information and integrity of pulp. Some authors found that non vital pulp has lower temperature than the vital pulp. Infrared technology is not a new phenomenon. It has been utilized successfully in industrial and research settings for decades. New innovations have resulted in noncontact infrared sensors offering smaller units of measurements led infrared technology to become an area of interest for new kinds of applications and users. The optimum resolution is the relationship between the distance of the measuring device from the target and the diameter of the spot (D: S), greater the value, better the optical resolution of the measuring device and smaller the target can be at given distance. The measurements of temperature in dentistry are important because of the fact that dental procedures can bring on uncontrolled increasing in temperature inside the oral cavity. It is known that temperature increase inside the pulp of about 5°C can lead to irreversible changes in the pulp. Attempt was made to bring the sensor much closer to the tooth surface and evaluated surface temperature rise of extracted teeth following exposure to composite light curing halogen – quartz halogen lamp. Results shows temperature changes of tooth can be recorded before and after light exposure by using newly designed probe.

Authors and Affiliations