title: Approximal caries diagnosis using fiber-optic transillumination: a mathematical adjustment to improve validity.
abstract: Several studies were conducted recently to evaluate the use of Fiber-Optic Trans-Illumination (FOTI) in the diagnosis of approximal carious lesions. All these studies utilized radiographic readings to validate the FOTI diagnoses. Other investigations studied the value of radiographic readings using more solid validating techniques, which made it possible to judge the true state of decay, such as histology, cavity preparation and microradiography. In this study, data from both types of studies were used to estimate the validity of FOTI diagnosis of approximal caries relative to the true status of decay through correction for radiographic misclassification. The results indicate that particularly the sensitivity of FOTI diagnosis has yet to be determined.
authors.affiliation: TRIKON, Department of Cariology and Endodontology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Verdonschot
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bronkhorst
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wenzel
mesh_terms: D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003804:Dentin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D055100:Optical Fibers; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014172:Transillumination / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*