Tiny Tech for Tiny Corals: Dental Scanners Unlock 3D Secrets of Reef Growth
The Challenge of Measuring Coral Growth
Coral reefs are the foundation of some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. Yet, these fragile habitats are under severe threat from climate change, bleaching, and human impacts. Understanding how corals grow — especially in their earliest life stages — is critical for predicting reef recovery and guiding restoration efforts.
Traditionally, measuring coral growth meant using destructive techniques like CT scans or painstakingly slow 3D reconstruction methods. While accurate, these approaches are not practical when researchers need to monitor large numbers of small, delicate coral recruits.
From Dentists’ Offices to Coral Labs
In a creative twist, researcher Kate M. Quigley and colleagues tested an intraoral dental scanner — a tool usually found in dentists’ offices — to scan tiny coral colonies. Dental scanners are designed to capture micron-level details of human teeth safely and quickly, using confocal imaging technology.
The idea: if these scanners can map the complex shapes of wet, living teeth inside a patient’s mouth, why not use them on live corals?
Fast, Precise, and Non-Destructive
The team used the iTero dental scanner at the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s National Sea Simulator. They tested it across different coral species and growth forms, from branching Acropora to encrusting Platygyra.
The results were striking:
Speed – Each coral could be scanned and modeled in under 2 minutes, compared to hours with older methods.
Precision – The scanner captured surface area and volume at micron-level accuracy, essential for studying corals less than 1 cm in size.
Animal-friendly – Unlike many older methods, this approach does not harm or kill the corals, making it ideal for long-term monitoring.
Future Applications for Reef Science
Beyond measuring growth, the dental scanner has even more potential. Its built-in near-infrared imaging — normally used by dentists to detect cavities — could one day serve as a rapid, non-invasive marker of coral health.
When combined with artificial intelligence and machine learning, these scans could help automate monitoring of coral restoration projects, scaling up the ability to track survival, growth, and resilience in real time.
Why It Matters
This innovative crossover between dentistry and marine biology demonstrates how tools from one field can revolutionize another. For coral researchers and conservationists, having a fast, precise, and gentle method to monitor juvenile corals could accelerate reef restoration efforts worldwide.
As reefs face mounting pressures, innovations like this may prove essential in giving corals — and the ecosystems they support — a fighting chance.
Reference
Quigley, K. M. (2022). A fast, precise, in-vivo method for micron-level 3D models of corals using dental scanners. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 13, 2159–2166. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13959