A dental probe for determining the vitality of a tooth, comprising(A) a light emitter and(B) a light receiver,wherein the light emitter emits light from an emitter surface adapted to be positioned on a hard dental surface of a tooth,wherein the light receiver collects light incident on a receiver surface adapted to be positioned on a hard dental surface of the tooth so that the optical path of the light emitted from the light emitter passes at least through a portion of the pulp chamber of the tooth,characterized in that the light receiver comprises(a) a light shielding spacer member adjacent to the optical path for establishing and maintaining a distance between the gum line and the optical path at the receiver surface, and/or(b) a pressing member for engaging the gingiva by applying pressure onto the gum when the receiver surface is positioned on the tooth, thereby providing an anaemic condition of the gingvia, and in thatan apical-coronal diameter of the light emitter surface and the light receiver surface is at most 1200 µm in the direction normal to the optical path.
