Comparison of diagnostic methods for dental caries.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to compare results of 4 different methods of diagnosing dental caries in 12-year-old children by evaluating their influence on the DMFS index and analyzing the correlation of the radiographic exam with the clinical exam.


METHODS
The tools used were: 1) dental mirror; 2) dental mirror and dental explorer, both performed in an outdoor setting under natural light; 3) dental mirror; 4) dental mirror and dental explorer, both performed in a traditional dental setting under artificial light. The radiographic exam was carried out after the clinical exam.


RESULTS
The dental explorer may be omitted from the clinical exam in epidemiological surveys and in clinical exams performed in dental offices. Methods 3) and 4) performed better in diagnosing dental caries than methods 1) and 2), which underestimated decay.


CONCLUSIONS
In the traditional dental setting, the process of dental cleaning and drying as well as artificial light, improved the diagnosis of dental caries. The radiographic exam used for epidemiological surveys, in relation to method 2), improved the clinical exam by 4%.
Meneghim
Marcelo de Castro
Mde C
Community Dentistry, University of Campinas, Piracicaba School of Dentistry, São Paulo State, Piraclcaba, Brazil. meneghim@fop.unicamp.br
Assaf
Andréa Videira
AV
Zanin
Luciane
L
Kozlowski
Fábio Carlos
FC
Pereira
Antonio Carlos
AC
Ambrosano
Gláucia Maria
GM
D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003762:Dental Instruments; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D003804:Dentin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting / Q000295:instrumentation; D011859:Radiography; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013472:Sunlight; D014099:Toothbrushing