A new type of laser test could mean far fewer of us have to go under the dentist's drill.

    The laser test, developed by a team from the University of Sydney, could be used to identify weaknesses in teeth enamel earlier than is currently possible, cutting down on the need for filings.

    The researchers beamed short, low-energy laser pulses at the teeth enamel. These caused acoustic waves in the surface of the enamel, which were then detected in the infrared laser light that was reflected back from the tooth. According to New Scientist: the team "found that changes in mineralisation of the enamel which signal the onset of decay appear to cause characteristic changes in the pattern of acoustic waves".

    In particular, the team says in the conclusion of its report, which was published in Optics Express, that there was an increase in the speed and frequency of the waves when enamel had worn away to expose the dentin underneath.

    Hsiao-Chuan Wang, one of the researchers, says that the team now plans to create a more compact system. "The ultimate goal is to come up with a quick, efficient, cost-effective and non-destructive way to evaluate mineralisation," he says.

    一種新的激光測(cè)試可能意味著我們會(huì)有更少的人必須要走到牙鉆下面。

    由悉尼大學(xué)的一個(gè)小組開(kāi)發(fā)的這種激光檢測(cè)方法，可以用來(lái)識(shí)別牙齒琺瑯質(zhì)的缺陷，它早于目前可能的方法：在需要的時(shí)候切下一些牙質(zhì)進(jìn)行銼屑。

    研究者們向牙齒琺瑯質(zhì)發(fā)出短暫的、低能耗的激光脈沖。這在琺瑯質(zhì)的表面引起聲波。然后在從牙齒反射回來(lái)的紅外激光中進(jìn)行檢測(cè)。據(jù)《新科學(xué)家》報(bào)道：這個(gè)小組"發(fā)現(xiàn)了琺瑯質(zhì)在氟斑礦化中的變化--它對(duì)衰敗的肇端發(fā)出信號(hào)，似乎引起聲波型式的特征性變化".

    尤其是，這個(gè)小組在他們的報(bào)告結(jié)論中說(shuō)道，在琺瑯質(zhì)被磨掉、暴露出下面的牙質(zhì)的時(shí)候，光波的速度和頻率有所增加。這份報(bào)告發(fā)表在《光學(xué)快訊》上。

    研究者之一王曉川（音譯）說(shuō)，這個(gè)小組現(xiàn)在計(jì)劃創(chuàng)造一個(gè)更為緊湊的系統(tǒng)。"我們最終的目標(biāo)是要提供一個(gè)快速、高效、低成本和無(wú)損檢測(cè)方法來(lái)對(duì)氟斑礦化進(jìn)行評(píng)價(jià)，"他說(shuō)。