Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Accuracy in Dental Medicine, A New Way to Measure Trueness and Precision
Published on: April 29, 2014
Reproducibility and accuracy of the ICDAS-II for occlusal caries detection
Michele Baffi Diniz1, Jonas Almeida Rodrigues, Isabel Hug
1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry of Araraquara, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil. mibdiniz@hotmail.com
Objectives:
The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the inter- and intra-examiner reproducibility and the accuracy of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System-II (ICDAS-II) in detecting occlusal caries.
Methods:
One hundred and sixty-three molars were independently assessed twice by two experienced dentists using the 0- to 6-graded ICDAS-II. The teeth were histologically prepared and classified using two different histological systems [Ekstrand et al. (1997) Caries Research vol. 31, pp. 224-231; Lussi et al. (1999) Caries Research vol. 33, pp. 261-266] and assessed for caries extension. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under the ROC curve (A(z)) were obtained at D(2) and D(3) thresholds. Unweighted kappa coefficient was used to assess inter- and intra-examiner reproducibility.
Results:
For the Ekstrand et al. histological classification the sensitivity was 0.99 and 1.00, specificity 1.00 and 0.69 and accuracy 0.99 and 0.76 at D(2) and D(3), respectively. For the Lussi et al. histological classification the sensitivity was 0.91 and 0.75, specificity 0.47 and 0.62 and accuracy 0.86 and 0.68 at D(2) and D(3), respectively. The A(z) varied from 0.54 to 0.73. The inter- and intra-examiner kappa values were 0.51 and 0.58, respectively.
Conclusions:
ICDAS-II presented good reproducibility and accuracy in detecting occlusal caries, especially caries lesions in the outer half of the enamel.
