US set to approve UK tooth decay imaging system

This will give dentists and their teams an opportunity to pre-empt cavities before they form.

Calcivis uses a novel combination of a medical device and a biologic protein to spot the presence of free calcium ions shed by teeth as they begin to deteriorate.

This can help differentiate between an active lesion and an inactive one – and at their early stages.

The FDA provided the Edinburgh-based company with an approvable letter for the system’s eventual full premarket approval, pending the completion of the required facilities inspections.

The approvable letter is based around positive data from the pivotal clinical study, which evaluated the imaging system in the assessment of active dental demineralisation compared with the current best standard of care.