title: Conventional and digital radiographic assessment of tooth enamel de-/remineralization processes: an experimental study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to compare digital techniques for evaluating dental enamel de-/remineralization.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty extracted molars were subjected to a process of de- and remineralization. Radiographs were taken before and after each stage. These radiographs were evaluated by the conventional method and were then scanned and analyzed either with or without the use of image enhancement. Moreover, the gray levels (GLs) of the affected areas were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All methods exhibited low sensitivity and identical levels of specificity (99.4%). Analysis of the grayscale levels found statistically significant differences between the initial radiographs (P < 0.05). The mean GL of the carious group was significantly lower than that of the remineralized group. The GL did not differ significantly between the initial and final radiographs of the remineralized group, although the mean of the first group was lower than that of the second, which demonstrated that the remineralization process restored the normal density of the dental enamel.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measurement of the mean GL was sufficiently sensitive to detect small alterations in the surface of the enamel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology and Radiology, School of Dentistry Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leite-Ribeiro
authors.forename: Thais Feitosa Leitão
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mathias
authors.forename: Elisângela de Jesus
authors.initials: Ede J
authors.lastname: Campo
authors.forename: Viviane Almeida
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Sarmento
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011861:Radiography, Dental; D017001:Tooth Demineralization; D014089:Tooth Remineralization / Q000379:methods*