Minimally-invasive diagnostic approaches in periodontics: laser Doppler imaging and optical coherence tomography

Evaluating the health status of the gingival tissue represents an important objective in the dental daily practice. Inflammation changes the microcirculatory and micromorphological dynamics of human gingiva which cannot always be determined only by current clinical examination methods and which may lead to unpleasant complications if not diagnosed and treated at the right moment. Laser Doppler Flowmetry and Laser Doppler Imaging could be a useful, noninvasive, sensitive, reproducible, and harmless methods for measuring gingival blood flow in humans. Optical Coherence Tomography is a non-invasive method of imaging the dental microstructure and can potentially be used to evaluate periodontal tissues. It offers an ‘optical biopsy’ of tissues at a 2–3 mm depth. These techniques provide a different evaluation of periodontal inflammation and can either replace traditional clinical examinations or serve as adjuncts for periodontal diagnosis.