The brilliant invention from Edinburgh that is helping deliver the Holy Grail of dentistry

Entrepreneur Adam Christie and his team in the Biotech Quarter are ready to roll-out Calcivis, a preventive system that will make that visit to the dentist less stressful

Dr Leanne Branton, of Southside Dental Care, sees the Calcivis Imaging System as a ‘game-changer’. Picture: Edinburgh Inquirer.

The reason for a typical visit to a dentist has changed very little in the last 50 years. Millions of Scots experience that feeling of trepidation sitting back in the chair as the dentist seeks to extract a rotten molar, replace a missing incisor, or fill a hole caused by tooth decay, the most prevalent disease in the world.

Thanks to a brilliant Edinburgh invention, backed by the angel investor community in the city, this is all about to change for the better. Effective early prevention of tooth decay and how to detect the caries has often been viewed as the Holy Grail of the dental health profession. Now a new device, approved for use in the important United States market, will bring this a step nearer.

Recently, a BBC film crew spent several hours filming this innovation in Edinburgh for their BBC Click innovation online series. A dentist in the Southside Dental Centre in Mayfield Road, just a stone’s throw from the King’s Buildings Science Faculty, was able to demonstrate how this amazing device will make a trip to the dentist less stressful.