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
. 2018 Sep;22(7):2431-2438.
doi: 10.1007/s00784-018-2512-0. Epub 2018 Jun 18.

Evaluation of occlusal caries detection and assessment by visual inspection, digital bitewing radiography and near-infrared light transillumination

Gerrit Schaefer  1 , Vinay Pitchika  1 , Friederike Litzenburger  1 , Reinhard Hickel  1 , Jan Kühnisch  2
Affiliations

Evaluation of occlusal caries detection and assessment by visual inspection, digital bitewing radiography and near-infrared light transillumination

Gerrit Schaefer et al. Clin Oral Investig. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Aim: This study compared the diagnostic outcomes of visual inspection (VI), digital bitewing radiography (BWR), and near-infrared light transillumination (NIR-LT, DIAGNOcam, KaVo, Biberach, Germany) for occlusal caries detection and assessment of posterior teeth.

Participants and methods: This study included 203 patients (mean age 23.0 years). All individuals received a meticulous VI. Additionally, BWR and NIR-LT images were collected. All BWR and NIR-LT images were blindly evaluated for the presence of enamel caries lesions (ECLs) and dentin caries lesions (DCLs). The descriptive statistical analyses included calculation of frequencies, cross tabulations, and pairwise comparisons using Pearson chi-square tests.

Results: The majority of ECLs/DCLs were detected by VI in this low-risk adult population. The additional diagnostic outcomes in terms of ECLs/DCLs amounted to 5.0% (BWR) and 6.8% (NIR-LT). The combined usage of VI/NIR-LT or VI/BWR identified 95.7 and 94.4% of all ECLs/DCLs on occlusal surfaces, respectively.

Conclusion: This comparative diagnostic study showed that VI detected the majority of occlusal caries lesions. Both additional methods showed limited benefits. Due to the valuable features of NIR-LT, i.e., X-ray freeness and clinical practicability, this method might be preferred over X-ray-based methods. Nevertheless, BWRs should be prescribed in clinical situations where insufficient fillings or multiple (deep) caries lesions are diagnosed or where there is a need to assess the caries extension in relation to the pulp.

Clinical relevance: VI has to be understood as caries detection method of choice on occlusal surfaces in low-risk adult population which may help to avoid multiple diagnostic testing, overdiagnosis, and overtreatment.

Keywords: Caries detection; Caries diagnostics; DIAGNOcam; Dentin caries; Near-infrared light transillumination; Occlusal caries.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Caries Res. 2015;49(2):91-8 - PubMed
    1. Int J Esthet Dent. 2015 Spring;10(1):158-65 - PubMed
    1. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1999 Oct;27(5):331-7 - PubMed
    1. Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2004 Sep;5(3):157-62 - PubMed
    1. Dent Update. 1997 Jun;24(5):182-4 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources