Evaluation of Fluorescence Imaging with Reflectance Enhancement (FIRE) for Quantifying Enamel Demineralization In vitro.

Objectives: To assess the ability of fluorescence imaging with reflectance enhancement (FIRE) to quantify early enamel demineralization in vitro. Methods: A total of 30 bovine enamel specimens were immersed in demineralizing solution to produce artificial caries. Specimens were examined by FIRE, quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF), and polarized light microscopy (PLM) at baseline and after 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24, 48 and 72 h of immersion. Fluorescence loss measured by FIRE and QLF was compared with lesion depth measurements by PLM. Results: Over all time points, measurement of fluorescence loss by FIRE correlated well with the measurement of ΔF by QLF and of ΔQ by QLF. Both FIRE and QLF techniques showed significant correlation with PLM. Conclusion: FIRE technology may be useful for quantifying enamel demineralization in vitro.