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Review
. 2020 Feb 4;9(2):420.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9020420.

Diagnostic Validity of Digital Imaging Fiber-Optic Transillumination (DIFOTI) and Near-Infrared Light Transillumination (NILT) for Caries in Dentine

Ana Marmaneu-Menero  1 , José Enrique Iranzo-Cortés  1 , Teresa Almerich-Torres  1 , José Carmelo Ortolá-Síscar  1 , José María Montiel-Company  1 , José Manuel Almerich-Silla  1
Affiliations
Review

Diagnostic Validity of Digital Imaging Fiber-Optic Transillumination (DIFOTI) and Near-Infrared Light Transillumination (NILT) for Caries in Dentine

Ana Marmaneu-Menero et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The objective of the study is to analyse the available evidence for the validity of the transillumination method in the diagnosis of interproximal caries. Bibliographic searches were carried out in three data bases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus) with the key words "Transillumination AND caries". A total of 11 studies were selected for the qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. In the qualitative analysis, both in vivo and in vitro studies were included. The gold standards were tomography, digital radiography, and clinical visual diagnosis. The meta-analysis determined the sensitivity, specificity, and area below the ROC curve relative to the transillumination method in the diagnosis of caries in dentine. Meta-analysis results obtained for transillumination gave a sensitivity value of 0.69 (confidence interval: 0.54-0.81), a specificity value of 0.89 (confidence interval: 0.61-0.98), while giving an AUC value of 0.79 (confidence interval: 0.67-0.87). Transillumination is a method offering moderate validity in the diagnosis of carious lesions in dentine, there is no strong evidence that may enable us to affirm that transillumination may fully substitute X-rays in the complementary diagnosis of carious lesions.

Keywords: cariology research; cavities; diagnostic Systems; imaging; radiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias in the studies analysed.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Concerns regarding applicability of the results of the studies analysed.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot for sensitivity.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot for sensitivity by subgroups.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Forest plot for specificity.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Forest plot for specificity by subgroups.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Forest plot for AUC.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Forest plot for AUC by subgroups.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Scatter Plots meta-regression for Sensitivity (A), Specificity (B) and AUC (C) for subgroups (in vivo/in vitro).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Funnel Plots for Sensitivity (A), Specificity (B) and AUC (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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