At Atlanta Dental Spa, we have the Diagnodent. Research has indicated that early cavities won’t show up on x-rays and are almost undetectable using conventional detection methods. Our cavity detection works by sending laser light in the tooth (no pain whatsoever!) and gives back a numerical number of the degree of decay associated with that tooth.
The conventional method of detection with a regular dental explorer is one way for cavity detection. But, seen in this picture, the explorer is not precise enough to detect the decay.