According to the World Health Organization, dental caries affects approximately 60-90% of schoolchildren and almost 100% of adults worldwide. An urgent task today is the early diagnosis of micro-damage to the tooth enamel. For this purpose, laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics can be used, which allows the identification of caries by analyzing the intrinsic fluorescence of microorganisms. In the framework of this work, a method of laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics of micro-damage to enamel was developed using a special model mixture with silver and polyvinylpyrrolidone nanoparticles. 63 samples of human teeth were examined, and removed for various clinical indications. During the experiments, it was shown that the most informative areas for laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics of tooth enamel are the fissure area and the cervical part of the tooth. In the area of fissures, pathogenic microflora usually accumulates the most due to its anatomical structure, and it is also most susceptible to the appearance of microcracks during the chewing process and other reasons. The cervical part of the tooth is an informative area for spectral analysis because the beginning of the formation of latent plaque and tartar occurs in this area. The optimal time for the diagnosis of enamel is 3 minutes after applying the model mixture. Based on the experimental results obtained ex vivo, it can be concluded that a model mixture with silver nanoparticles and polyvinylpyrrolidone can be used for laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics of tooth enamel in clinical conditions, with minor adjustments to the experimental conditions.
