Use of prolonged drying as an alternative to improve the laser fluorescence method to assess activity caries lesions in primary teeth: an in vivo study

O presente trabalho objetivou testar o uso da secagem prolongada (30s) na tentativa de melhorar a habilidade do método de fluorescência a laser em avaliar a atividade de lesões de cárie oclusais em dentes decíduos. Noventa e três crianças, com idade entre 4 e 14 anos, concluíram todas as fases deste estudo. Um examinador, previamente treinado, realizou as medições, após secagem prévia por 3 segundos (controle) e 30 segundos, com o aparelho de fluorescência a laser (Ddpen) nas superfícies oclusais dos molares decíduos selecionados (n=515). Para a validação concorrente, os dentes previamente selecionados foram classificados por dois examinadores quanto à presença e atividade das lesões de cárie através do critério de inspeção visual ICDAS e a avaliação da atividade das lesões foi realizada através da ponderação mental das características clinicas da lesões. Para a validação preditiva, após 1 ano do exame inicial, 19 crianças foram reexaminados pelos métodos descritos acima. Com o intuito de verificar a habilidade do método em diferenciar lesões ativas e inativas, foram consideradas as medições após 3 s e 30 s de secagem, além da diferença entre essas medidas (DIF 30s-3s). Para isso, foram utilizadas análises de regressão linear multinível. Para a validação preditiva, modelos de regressão logística foram usados e o risco relativo com intervalo de confiança de 95% foi calculado. Houve discreta diferença entre os dois tempos de secagem (3s e 30s). Para as lesões clinicamente em esmalte, não houve diferença na magnitude das leituras do DDpen, independentemente do tempo de secagem utilizado. Entretanto, quando foi considerado somente lesões não cavitadas, observaram-se, em média, maiores leituras para as lesões de cárie inativas do que para as ativas, efeito que desapareceu quando a análise foi ajustada pela pigmentação das lesões não cavitadas. A DIF 30s-3s não contribuiu na diferenciação de lesões inativas e ativas, nem considerando lesões clinicamente em esmalte, nem apenas as lesões não cavitadas. As lesões cavitadas ativas tiveram maior leitura de fluorescência a laser que as lesões inativas. Na validação preditiva, as medidas de fluorescência a laser também não foram associadas à progressão das lesões, nem à alteração do status de atividade. Isso foi válido para ambos os tempos de secagem e para a DIF 30s-3s. Conclui-se que a fluorescência a laser é capaz de diferenciar, quanto à atividade, apenas lesões de cárie cavitadas, independente do tempo de secagem utilizado e que a medida da diferença entre as leituras obtidas após secagem de 3s e 30s não auxilia na classificação do status de atividade das lesões de cárie não cavitadas.The aim of the current study was to test the use of an extended drying period (30s), in order to improve the laser fluorescence ability for assessing active and inactive occlusal caries lesions in primary teeth. Ninety-three children, aged 4- 14 yrs-old, were involved in all steps of the study. One examiner, previously trained, performed measurements with laser fluorescence (Ddpen), after 3s and 30 s of previous air-drying, on the occlusal surfaces of selected primary molars (n=515). For the concurrent validation, all previously selected teeth were classified using the ICDAS and the lesion activity assessment was performed through mental weighing of clinical characteristics. For the predictive validation, 19 children were evaluated again following the same criteria mentioned above. Measurements collected after 3 and 30 s of air-drying, and also the difference between them (DIF 30s-3s) were calculated, aiming to verify the ability of the method to differentiate active and inactive lesions. For this, multilevel linear regression analyses were performed. For the predictive validation, logistic regression models were considered and the relative risk with a confidence interval of 95% was also calculated. A slight difference between values was found, for both drying periods (3s and 30s). Concerning the lesions that were clinically classified in enamel, no significant statistical difference was observed on laser fluorescence readings, independently of air-drying time. However, when considering only non-cavitaded lesions, higher mean readings were observed for the inactive lesions than for the active ones. However, this effect disappeared when adjusting the analysis for the stained non-cavitaded lesions. The DIF 30s-3s did not contribute to distinguishing active and inactive lesions. Active cavitated lesions presented higher DDpen readings than inactive cavitated lesions. In the predictive validation, the measurements of laser fluorescence were not also associated to the greatest risk of progression or changes in the status of the activity. It was concluded that the Ddpen is suitable to differentiate cavitated active and inactive lesions independently of the drying period, and that the difference measurement between the obtained readings after 3s and 30s of air-drying does not help in caries activity assessment of noncavitated caries lesions

The influence of interdental spacing on the detection of proximal caries lesions in primary teeth

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of interdental spacing on the performance of proximal caries detection methods in primary molars. In addition, aspects related to temporary tooth separation with orthodontic separators were evaluated. The proximal spaces between the posterior primary teeth (n = 344) of 76 children (4-12 years old) were evaluated before and after temporary separation. Stainless steel strips with different standardized thicknesses were used to measure the presence of biological spacing and the spacing obtained after temporary separation with orthodontic rubber rings. First, the presence of proximal caries lesions was assessed by visual inspection, bitewing radiographs and a pen-type laser fluorescence device (DIAGNOdent pen). Visual inspection after temporary separation with separators was the reference standard method in checking the actual presence of caries. Multilevel analyses were performed considering different outcomes: the performance of the methods in detecting caries lesions and the spacing after temporary separation. The spacing did not influence the performance of the caries detection methods. The maximum spacing obtained with temporary tooth separation was 0.80 mm (mean ± standard deviation = 0.46 ± 0.13 mm). The temporary separation was more effective in the upper arch and less effective when an initial biological interdental spacing was present. The biological interdental spacing does not influence the performance of proximal caries detection methods in primary molars, and temporary tooth separation provides spacing narrower than 1.0 mm

Performance of fluorescence-based and conventional methods of occlusal caries detection in primary molars - an in vitro study

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2012; 22: 459466 Aim. This in vitro study aimed to test the performance of fluorescence-based methods in detecting occlusal caries lesions in primary molars compared to conventional methods. Design. Two examiners assessed 113 sites on 77 occlusal surfaces of primary molars using three fluorescence devices: DIAGNOdent (LF), DIAGNOdent pen (LFpen), and fluorescence camera (VistaProof-FC). Visual inspection (ICDAS) and radiographic methods were also evaluated. One examiner repeated the evaluations after one month. As reference standard method, the lesion depth was determined after sectioning and evaluation in stereomicroscope. The area under the ROC curve (Az), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the methods were calculated at enamel (D1) and dentine caries (D3) lesions thresholds. The intra and interexaminer reproducibility were calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and kappa statistics. Results. At D1, visual inspection presented higher sensitivities (0.970.99) but lower specificities (0.180.25). At D3, all the methods demonstrated similar performance (Az values around 0.90). Visual and radiographic methods showed a slightly higher specificity (values higher than 0.96) than the fluorescence based ones (values around 0.88). In general, all methods presented high reproducibility (ICC higher than 0.79). Conclusions. Although fluorescence-based and conventional methods present similar performance in detecting occlusal caries lesions in primary teeth, visual inspection alone seems to be sufficient to be used in clinical practice.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) [47 6372/2006-2, 302368/2008-6, 565061/2008-9]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)ProReitoria de Pesquisa e de PosGraduacao da USPPro-Reitoria de Pesquisa e de Pos-Graduacao da USPFundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [2009/16082-0]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP

Children's discomfort in assessments using different methods for approximal caries detection

Because discomfort caused by different approximal caries detection methods can influence their performance, the assessment of this discomfort is important. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the discomfort reported by children after the use of different diagnostic methods to detect approximal caries lesions in primary teeth: visual inspection, bitewing radiography, laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent pen - LFpen) and temporary separation with orthodontic rubbers. Seventy-six children aged 4 to 12 years were examined using these methods. Their discomfort was assessed using the Wong-Baker scale and compared among the methods. Visual inspection caused less discomfort than did other methods. Radiography and the LFpen presented similar levels of discomfort. Older children reported higher discomfort using temporary separation, whereas younger children reported less discomfort with the LFpen. In conclusion, radiographic, temporary separation and LFpen methods provoke higher discomfort than visual inspection