title: Evaluation of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) System: Comparison with Intraoral Periapical Radiography in Proximal Caries Detection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With the introduction of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in dentistry, a question has been raised whether the technique significantly increases the diagnostic accuracy in comparison with other techniques or not. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the accuracy of CBCT modality in detecting proximal carious lesions as compared to conventional periapical radiographs.
  
  
  METHODS
  This diagnostic study was carried out on 84 human extracted molars and premolars. The teeth were mounted and divided in 28 blocks of 3 teeth. Periapical and CBCT images of teeth were obtained. Five observers scored the images for the detection of proximal carious lesions using a 2-point scale (caries, present; caries, absent). The gold standard was determined by histopathologic sections. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and receiver operating charac-teristics (ROC) curves were traced for observers in both systems. The results were analyzed by paired t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The area under the ROC curve, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values of CBCT images were 0.568, 0.835, 0.637, 0.714, 0.598 and 0.856, respectively. These parameters were 0.432, 0.837, 0.722, 0.77, 0.687 and 0.858 for the periapical conventional technique, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CBCT images did not enhance detection of proximal caries in comparison with periapical images.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Solmaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valizadeh
authors.forename: Mohammad Amin
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tavakkoli
authors.forename: Homaoun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karimi Vasigh
authors.forename: Zeynab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Azizi
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zarrabian