Optical Coherence Tomography for Patients with Developmental Disabilities: A Preliminary Study
Kimberly Espinoza,
Juri Hayashi,
Yasushi Shimada,
Junji Tagami,
Alireza Sadr
Affiliations
Kimberly Espinoza
Dental Education in the Care of Persons with Disabilities (DECOD), Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Juri Hayashi
Biomimetics, Biomaterials, Biophotonics, Biomechanics & Technology (B4T) Laboratory, Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Yasushi Shimada
Cariology and Operative Dentistry Department, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
Junji Tagami
Cariology and Operative Dentistry Department, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
Alireza Sadr
Biomimetics, Biomaterials, Biophotonics, Biomechanics & Technology (B4T) Laboratory, Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Dental radiographs are essential for diagnosis and treatment planning, but are sometimes difficult to acquire for patients with developmental disabilities (PDD). Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-ionizing imaging modality that has the potential application as an alternative to dental radiographs for PDD. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of intraoral OCT imaging for PDD. Ten participants were recruited in the Dental Education in the Care of Persons with Disabilities (DECOD) Clinic to explore the utility of dental OCT. The prototype system (Yoshida Dental) creates in-depth and three-dimensional images of teeth. The participants indicated their degree of pain during imaging on the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale, and the degree of discomfort after imaging on a visual analog scale. OCT can be used for patients with developmental disabilities with minimal levels of pain and discomfort, without ionizing radiation.
