title: In vivo reproducibility study of ultrasound for monitoring enamel thickness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This work assesses ultrasound's reproducibility for monitoring enamel thickness in vivo.
  
  
  METHODS
  This clinical reproducibility study recruited 30 healthy consenting volunteers. The enamel thickness on an intact maxillary central incisor was evaluated at 3 sites on 3 separate visits, 1 week apart. Bland-Altman statistical test and intraclass coefficients (ICC) were used to assess reproducibility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reproducibility results were highest for the cervical site (bias [mm] = -0.01; 95% limits of agreement = -0.05, 0.04), followed by midbuccal (bias = 0.01; 95% limits of agreement = -0.04, 0.06) and incisal site (bias = 0; 95% limits of agreement = -0.25, 0.25). ICC was highest for the cervical site (0.96) followed by midbuccal (0.71).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultrasound is a sufficiently reproducible and reliable technique for monitoring change in enamel thickness, as in erosive tooth surface loss (TSL). The preferred sites for ultrasonographic measurements are cervical and midbuccal.
authors.affiliation: PhD student, Oral Biology Department, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. Electronic address: drsindi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Khalid Hussain
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Sindi
authors.affiliation: Lecturer in Dental Materials, Oral Biology Department, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nigel Lawrence
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Bubb
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer in Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Joseph Anthony
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Restorative Dentistry Department, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Diana Lynn
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Gutteridge
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014077:Tooth Erosion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography