An appliance for monitoring the shrinkage of root caries with OCT.

Demineralized root dentin and cementum are mostly collagen that shrinks significantly upon dehydration. Active root caries lesions manifest shrinkage upon dehydration, however during the remineralization of root caries lesions mineral is deposited on the outside of the lesion arresting the lesion and arrested lesions no longer manifest shrinkage upon dehydration. Optical coherence tomography is ideally suited for the measurement of that shrinkage for the assessment of lesion activity. In this study the shrinkage of natural root caries lesions on extracted teeth were measured using a CP-OCT system with a 3D printed appliance with an integrated air nozzle suitable for clinical use.