Occlusal caries diagnosis in permanent teeth: an in vitro study

The reduction in caries prevalence has not occurred uniformly for all dental surfaces. As the occlusal surfaces are still the most likely sites for the development of lesions, new methods of diagnosis are still being evaluated. This study compared a laser fluorescence (LF) system (DIAGNOdent) with the Ekstrand’s visual system for in vitro detection of occlusal caries. A total of 57 extracted molars with macroscopically intact occlusal surfaces were selected. Two-examiners assessed 110 sites by visual inspection (VI) and LF. After ten days from the first measurement, all teeth were re-evaluated through the same methods by each examiner. Caries extension was histologically assessed (X 40). The methods were compared by means of sensitivity, specificity, intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility and area under the ROC curve. The kappa’s test showed good intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility for both methods. VI and LF showed similar sensitivities for both examiners, however, VI showed higher specificities than LF. The overall analysis, as demonstrated by the area under the ROC curve, showed that VI had a better performance than the LF device. It was concluded that the Ekstrand’s visual system is more reliable than the LF device. LF should be considered only as an adjuvant for occlusal caries diagnosis.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Angnes,Gisele, Angnes,Vivian, Grande,Rosa Helena Miranda, Battistella,Márcio, Loguercio,Alessandro Dourado, Reis,Alessandra
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa Odontológica - SBPqO 2005
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-83242005000400002
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