3D reconstructions of resin dental fillings based on en face OCT images

Optical tomographic techniques are of particular importance in the medical imaging field, because these techniques can provide non-invasive diagnostic images. In the present study, en-face optical coherence tomography (efOCT) was used as a non-invasive high resolution imaging method for supplying the necessary information on the quality of dental hard tissues and coronal composite resin fillings. Teeth after being subject to several treatment methods are imaged in order to asses the material defects and micro-leakage of tooth-filling interface as well as to evaluate the quality of dental hard tissue. C-scan and B-scan OCT images are acquired from a large range of samples. Based on such images, 3D reconstructions were assembled, which lead to a better view of the investigated areas. Cracks and voids in the dental structures as well as material defects and gaps at the interfaces are clearly exposed. The advantages of the OCT imaging method consist in non-invasiveness and high resolution. The en-face OCT offers the user the possibility of rapidly acquiring sequential B-scans and C-scans by switching the instrument between the two regimes. Sequential and rapid switching between the en-face regime and the cross-section regime, specific for the en-face OCT systems, represent a significant advantage in the process of non-invasive imaging, as images with different orientations can be obtained using the same system, during the same imaging event. 3D reconstructions of volumes allow evaluation and localization of defects in the samples. By importing such data into numerical simulation software can provide answers on the behavior of the investigated structures.