What is Disclosing Solution or Caries Detecting Dye?
What is Disclosing Solution or Caries Detecting Dye?
This blog describes the use of disclosing solution which is the same as caries detecting dye and shows photos of caries detecting dye used during tooth preparation.
Cavity between teeth shows up on an x-ray as a dark shadow.
The decay is removed and the tooth looks pretty good. Time to test with disclosing solution!
If your dentist is using disclosing solution or caries detecting dye that means they care about you and they care about your teeth! Caries detecting dye or solution is like disclosing solution. Both are composed of a liquid die that will stain bacteria and bacterial byproducts.
Disclosing solution or caries detecting dye is used by dentists and dental hygienists for the following reasons:
- To show you where bacteria are sticking to your teeth
- To improve your brushing techniques
- To evaluate if there is decay on your teeth
- To be conservative in tooth preparation by removing all the decay and leaving healthy tooth structure
You can see why these things would be good for you! The photos included here illustrate the treatment of a cavity that occurred in the ‘flossing zone’ between two teeth. The dentist has removed the obvious decay and shaped the tooth so that a tooth-colored restoration can be placed. Dark, stained areas of decay have been removed. The tooth looks ready to restore but it isn’t. Now is the time to paint on the caries detecting dye!
Disclosing solution or caries detecting dye is painted over the prepared cavity.
Disclosing solution or caries detecting dye is painted over the prepared cavity and then rinsed away. Remaining dye shows remaining decay!
The dye comes in several colors. Red is the most common. The dye is painted onto the cavity preparation and allowed to remain a couple seconds. The excess dye is rinsed away and any stain that remains indicates the presence of bacteria or bacterial byproducts. This is carefully removed by your dentist. Since tooth-colored fillings or restorations bond to your tooth there is no longer a need to cut in undercuts to help hold fillings in. Your dentist will want to be conservative in tooth preparation by removing all the decay and leaving healthy tooth structure.
The tooth is restored to ideal contours knowing that all decay has been carefully removed.
In our office, we may paint on the dye several times. Each time removing just the areas where decay remains and saving as much tooth as possible. This is just one of the many ways we would like our teeth to be treated and so that is the way we treat our patient’s teeth! Please call our office if you have any questions or concerns. We would love to see you!