Another Modern Dental Horror: THE "DENTAL EXPLORER"

Most of us here on Curezone believe in remineralization and avoiding unnecessary treatments at all costs.

I have posted before describing what my dentist did to my teeth decades ago - pushing a needle sharp pick into the center of my molars, so hard that I couldn't keep my head up. I knew then, at the age of 9, that this was wrong and it burned into my memory. I recently discovered what this tool is and the controversial nature of it's use by dentists. Is this a surprise? Another controversial ADA method to help teeth that actually causes problems with teeth.

The "DENTAL EXPLORER" tool. (looks like a curved sharp metal pick)
A photo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorer_%28dental%29

How does it work? The dentist pushes this needle sharp tool into the center of the molar to see if it sticks with the plaque or breaks through (yes, breaks through) the enamel and into the softer dentin underneath the enamel. If it breaks through, you now have a cavity (created by the dentist) that needs to be filled. This is a "preliminary strike" on cavities - causing a cavity before one even exists. This goes against what we at Curezone know about the scientific fact of natural demineralization and... REMINERALIZATION.


Here is a snippet taken from the ADA's own website:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"USE OF AN EXPLORER CAN LEAD TO
MISDIAGNOSIS AND DISRUPT REMINERALIZATION.

The caries process is a known continuum beginning
with demineralization beneath dental
plaque and progressing through various stages
that include a so-called “white spot” and eventual
cavitation. Since the 1966 report by Backer Dirks2
documenting that white-spot lesions could be
reversed completely and “disappear” clinically,
many scientists have investigated the physicochemical
dynamics of the caries process. Among
the conclusions from these numerous studies is
the fact that even though the white-spot lesion
reflects the loss of mineral through the outer onehalf
of the enamel thickness, the lesion may be
remineralized as long as the surface layer
remains in place. Once the surface layer is
broken, plaque acids diffuse into the lesion and
the extent of the lesion progresses much more
rapidly. Thus, an intact surface layer is considered
essential to the reversal of the caries process,
and penetration of this surface with a (DENTAL EXPLORER)
explorer converts a subsurface lesion into a
frank cavity.

There is an increasing body of scientific data indicating
that noncavitated incipient lesions may be
remineralized if the surface layer covering the
demineralized area or lesion (the white spot)
remains intact. Because the use of the probe generally
has disrupted this surface layer and prevented
the possibility of reversing the noncavitated
area through remineralization, the use of
the (DENTAL EXPLORER) probe to determine the softness or tackiness
of the noncavitated lesion is contraindicated."

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The controversey:
http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/jada/current/0006a.pdf#search='dental%20explorer' Tweet