D-Carie by NEKS
Click here to enlarge imageNEKS Technologies, Inc. from Montreal has introduced a caries detector and a calculus detector. Naïm Karazivan, DDS, president and founder of the company, gave me a detailed demonstration at the ADA meeting. The D-Carie caries detector shows the presence of both occlusal and interproximal caries via two signals: audible and visual (green light turns to red). Unlike KaVo’s DIAGNOdent, there is no numeric output - the detector is either on or off so there is no sense of the degree of decay. A larger area of decay below the surface of the enamel gives a red light to indicate more decay. If the probe is placed over the marginal ridge, the red light appears if there are caries below. At the ADA, this procedure was shown on extracted teeth with no restorations. On its Web site, the company cites one study in which teeth where examined with the D-Carie and the DIAGNOdent, then extracted and re-examined and sectioned. The study indicates that the detector does work. But since I am not a researcher, I will leave it to you to draw conclusions from the data presented in the study. Certainly more studies are ongoing and necessary. But if caries can be diagnosed earlier, enamel can be saved and the word “watch” eliminated.
The other device (which can be bundled as a two-in-one with the D-Carie) is the DetecTar. This device was around more than a year ago under the Ultradent brand, then quietly disappeared. Now it is back in the hands of NEKS. This device also uses the LED and color changes and sound when calculus is found along the surface of the root. The DetecTar can be quite helpful in two areas - patient education and rechecking after maintenance. One of the difficulties in explaining subgingival areas to patients is that they cannot see it. Thus, they have to take a dentist’s word, unless there is radiographic evidence. There is a tiny camera called a perioscope that can see inside the pockets; however, it is fairly expensive and patients cannot understand the orientation. This probe gives some visual and audio feedback to the operator and patient to help explain the problem. Not only was the DetecTar successful in identifying the calculus in the extracted tooth demo in my hands, it also worked with a tooth submerged in murky, red liquid simulating the pocket. This device also can serve as a check on a recall patient as well as allowing an operator to check immediately post-op on his or her own treatment to be sure everything is clean. There will be some naysayers who think this is a bit of overkill, but you can never be too thorough. Everyone will have his or her own comfort zone. More information is available at neks.com.
Disinfectable keyboard and mouse (continued)
My column in November outlined some issues regarding cross-contamination from keyboards and mice. I reviewed a few products, but another notable one appeared at the ADA meeting where Esterline displayed the Medigenic Medical Keyboard. Unlike other such products, this item has a flat, flexible surface stretches over a high-quality keyboard.
