title: Influence of professional experience on detection and treatment decision of occlusal caries lesions in primary teeth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the influence of examiner's clinical experience on detection and treatment decision of caries lesions in primary molars.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three experienced dentists (Group A) and three undergraduate students (Group B) used the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria and bitewing radiographs (BW) to perform examinations twice in 77 primary molars that presented a sound or carious occlusal surface. For the treatment decision (TD), the examiners attributed scores, analyzing the teeth in conjunction with the radiographs. The presence and the depth of lesion were validated histologically, and reproducibility was evaluated. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the ROC curve values were calculated for ICDAS and BW. The associations between ICDAS, BW, and TD were analyzed by means of contingency tables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interexaminer agreement for ICDAS, BW, and TD were excellent for Group B and moderate for Group A. The two groups presented similar and satisfactory performance for caries lesion detection using ICDAS and BW. In the treatment decision, Group A was shown to have a less invasive approach than Group B.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The examiner's experience was not determinant for the clinical and radiographic detection of occlusal lesions in primary teeth but influenced the treatment decision of initial lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Araraquara School of Dentistry, UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diego Girotto
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9078-7385
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Bussaneli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Araraquara School of Dentistry, UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thalita
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boldieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, UNICSUL - Cruzeiro do Sul University, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Michele Baffi
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Diniz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, USC - Sagrado Coração Univesity, Bauru, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana Monti Lima
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Araraquara School of Dentistry, UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santos-Pinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Araraquara School of Dentistry, UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rita De Cássia Loiola
authors.initials: Rde C
authors.lastname: Cordeiro
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003657:Decision Making; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003815:Dentists; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000592:standards*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000592:standards*; D012372:ROC Curve; D016300:Radiography, Bitewing / Q000592:standards*; D013335:Students, Dental