Dental optical coherence tomography: a comparison of two in vitro systems

Objective: To compare the imaging results obtained with two different in vitro prototype dental optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems. Methods: Two prototypes were evaluated: an 850 nm wavelength, 700 mu W OCT system with a relatively low numerical aperture (0.03) and a 1310 nm wavelength, 140 mu W system With a higher numerical aperture (0.20). Results: Using the 850 nm system a characteristic scattering signal was observed that correlated with the depth of a periodontal probe. There was. however. insufficient light penetration to create images with adequate resolution. Improved image duality was achieved with the 1310 nm OCT system; these images had sufficient, resolution to allow identification of anatomical structures important for the diagnostic assessment of oral structures. Conclusions: These results illustrate the improvement in imaging dental structures that call be obtained with a prototype 1310 nm OCT system. The feasibility of OCT as a dental imaging technique is verified.