Spectroscopy Finds Early Tooth Decay

King's College, London is developing a new technology that may make the dentist's drill obsolete in as little as five years. A preliminary study shows that decay causing bacteria scatter light differently from healthy tooth matter. Using a form of spectroscopy similar to that used in condensed matter physics and material sciences, dentists would be able to catch decay almost before it starts and repair minimal damage with mouthwash or fluoride varnish instead of drilling.

 The study is still in its early stages; human testing has not begun. The procedure would involve pointing a fiber optic cable emitting laser light at each tooth. The procedure uses Raman spectroscopy, a form of spectroscopy relying on inelastic scattering of monochromatic light in the visible or near visible (near infrared or near ultraviolet) ranges. Molecular vibrations alter the wavelength and intensity of the scattered light, providing information about the intermittent material. In this case, the healthy tooth material scatters the light differently than bacteria and early stages of decay, allowing the researchers (and later dentists with the proper training) to identify precise locations in the tooth with the beginnings of a problem and take steps to ameliorate them before they require the more severe treatments in common use today. 

The patient would need to sit completely still for as much as 30 seconds at a time while individual teeth are mapped; even slight movements would invalidate the resulting spectrograph. This may prove difficult for many people and may be an even larger barrier to adoption than the cost (likely to be quite high at first). 

 Is some one having ideas for solution on this barrier?