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A new tool in the dentist's office makes finding cavities easier

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Posted 7:25 AM 10/24/2012 : A new tool in the dentist's office makes finding cavities easier

TUCSON- With Halloween around the corner, cavities are sure to follow.

Sweet candy eats away at your teeth, leaving dentists poking and prodding around your mouth. But, a new technology might make finding cavities a little easier for doctors and patients.

The Spectra System is popping up in some dentists' offices to not only detect the cavity, but also measure its severity.

"It shines fluorescent light on the tooth and then that fluorescent light causes bacteria that we know are in cavities to glow." says Dr. Paul Leatham.

The glowing bacteria translates into a number telling the dentist just how deep the cavity is.

"To be able to do measurements without going in with what some people call the iron hook, to go in there and find the cavities, this is a little less invasive."

It's a method Dr. Leatham says promotes prevention allowing him to catch a cavity before it gets bigger.

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