Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2017 Nov 16;17(1):130.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-017-0421-2.

Comparison of diagnostic methods for early interproximal caries detection with near-infrared light transillumination: an in vivo study

Ismail Hakki Baltacioglu  1 , Kaan Orhan  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of diagnostic methods for early interproximal caries detection with near-infrared light transillumination: an in vivo study

Ismail Hakki Baltacioglu et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: Although numerous studies have used digital intraoral imaging, only a few studies have used photo-optical methods for the diagnosis of caries. Moreover, several limitations exist in terms of observers (experience and specialty) and the caries lesion itself. Hence, the aims of this study were to evaluate the diagnostic capability of near-infrared light transillumination (NILT) and PSP-Bitewing radiographs and to compare the interobserver and intraobserver differences in addition to observers' experience level to detect early interproximal caries lesions in vivo.

Methods: A total of 52 untreated posterior teeth with and without varying degrees of early interproximal carious lesions were included. Bitewing radiographs using digital phosphor plates (PSP-Bitewing) and NILT were used to clarify the diagnosis. An oral and maxillofacial radiologist and a restorative dentistry consultant evaluated the images twice. A separate appointment for clinical validation and restoration was made. Kappa coefficients were calculated to assess both intraobserver and interobserver agreements for each evaluation method. Scores obtained from PSP-Bitewing and NILT were compared with the clinical validation via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Results: No significant differences were found between PSP-Bitewing radiography and NILT for detecting early interproximal carious lesions with high average Az results. Both intraobserver and interobserver agreement values were relatively higher for NILT evaluation. The Az values increased at second evaluations for both caries detection methods.

Conclusions: NILT examination has an appropriate sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy for detecting early interproximal caries lesions and can be considered as a method of choice for detecting caries without the use of ionizing radiation.

Keywords: Approximal caries; Bitewing radiography; Nilt; Photostimulating phosphor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry, Ethics Committee, No: 10/7, 2016. Written consent obtained from all patients.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The flow chart for methodology
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a PSP-Bitewing radiograph showing proximal caries lesions in both the second premolar (scale 1) and first molar (scale 3) (arrow), (b) NILT image showing the carious lesion only for the second premolar (scale 1) and without any caries lesion (scale 5) for the first molar teeth
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Jeon RJ, Matvienko A, Mandelis A, Abrams SH, Amaechi BT, Kulkarni G. Interproximal dental caries detection using Photothermal radiometry (PTR) and modulated luminescence (LUM) Eur Phys J Special Topics. 2008;153:467–469. doi: 10.1140/epjst/e2008-00486-4. - DOI
    1. Manton DJ. Diagnosis of the early carious lesion. Aust Dent J. 2013;58(Suppl 1):35–39. doi: 10.1111/adj.12048. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ulusu T, Bodur H, Odabas ME. In vitro comparison of digital and conventional bitewing radiographs for the detection of approximal caries in primary teeth exposed and viewed by a new wireless handheld unit. Dentomaxillofac Radiol. 2010;39(2):91–94. doi: 10.1259/dmfr/15182314. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Versteeg KH, Sanderink GC, Velders XL, van Ginkel FC, van der Stelt PF. In vivo study of approximal caries depth on storage phosphor plate images compared with dental x-ray film. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 1997;84(2):210–213. doi: 10.1016/S1079-2104(97)90071-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Senel B, Kamburoglu K, Ucok O, Yuksel SP, Ozen T, Avsever H. Diagnostic accuracy of different imaging modalities in detection of proximal caries. Dentomaxillofac Radiol. 2010;39(8):501–511. doi: 10.1259/dmfr/28628723. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types