Assessment of two methods for detecting carious dentin: an in vitro study

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Dental Diagnostics
• Cariology

Background:

• Accurate detection of dentinal caries is crucial for effective treatment planning.
• Traditional visual/tactile methods for caries detection can be subjective.
• Novel diagnostic tools aim to improve the objectivity and accuracy of caries detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the in vitro diagnostic performance of Caries Finder and BlueCheck against the traditional visual/tactile method.
• To assess the substantial equivalence of Caries Finder and BlueCheck in visualizing demineralized dentin.
• To evaluate the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the tested methods.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-five human teeth with ICDAS 4-6 lesions were used in a parallel, randomized controlled study.
• Three evaluators assessed lesions using visual/tactile, Caries Finder, and BlueCheck methods under standard conditions.
• A two-one sided test (TOST) approach was employed to evaluate equivalence claims.

Main Results:

• Caries Finder demonstrated 94.80% sensitivity and 98.53% specificity, with a Kappa value of 0.938.
• BlueCheck showed 96.02% sensitivity and 99.09% specificity, with a Kappa value of 0.956.
• Both methods exhibited good to excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability, with high accuracy rates.

Conclusions:

• Caries Finder and BlueCheck are comparable to the traditional method for in vitro dentinal caries detection.
• These methods show promise in differentiating carious from healthy dentin.
• Further in vivo studies are recommended to validate clinical equivalence and efficacy.