Patent ID: 8512040

Claim:
A method for cleaning an oral cavity, said method comprising: a. positioning within said oral cavity a device suitable for detecting and removing plaque from a surface of at least one tooth of said oral cavity, said device comprising a radiation source for directing incident radiation onto said surface, b. substantially simultaneously cleaning and irradiating said surface of said at least one tooth in said oral cavity, said at least one tooth having applied thereto a fluorescent agent capable of binding to plaque on said surface of at least one tooth, with incident radiation of a wavelength effective to provide a fluorescent emission when contacted with said fluorescent agent on said surface of at least one tooth, c. collecting at least a portion of said fluorescent emission over a first time period, d. determining a first average plaque value (APV1) based on said fluorescent emission collected over said first time period, e. comparing said APV1 to a predetermined plaque threshold value (PPTV), wherein if said APV1 is greater than or equal to said PPTV, then f. collecting at least a portion of said fluorescent emission over a second time period, g. determining a second average plaque value (APV2) based on said fluorescent emission collected over said second time period, h. determining a percent reduction from said APV1 to said APV2, i. comparing said percent reduction from said APV1 to a predetermined percent reduction threshold (PPRT), j. continuing to substantially simultaneously clean and irradiate said at least one tooth until said percent reduction from said APV1 is equal to or greater than said PPRT, or for a predetermined maximum time period PMTP), whichever occurs first.