[Probing and occlusal caries]

Occlusal fissures are one of the most frequent locations for dental caries. In order to detect early caries lesions in terms of "sticky fissures" tactile examinations with a sharp explorer are important parts of a classical clinical examination. The aim of the present investigation was to study whether probing with an explorer contributed to the development of occlusal caries in permanent of first molars. The study was carried out in 101 children (56 girls and 45 boys) who had intact pairs of first molars. Altogether 104 first molar pairs were studied. One and two years later both of the pairs were probed, but there was no significant correlation found between previous probing and occlusal caries.