Comparative Study of Methods for Caries Risk Evaluation: CAMBRA, the Cariogram, and Caries Risk Semaphore

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Accurate dental caries risk assessment is crucial for effective caries management.
• Commonly utilized methods include CAMBRA, Cariogram, and Caries Risk Semaphore (CRS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic agreement between three distinct dental caries risk assessment methods: CAMBRA, Cariogram, and Caries Risk Semaphore (CRS).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 672 patients at the University of Valencia Dental Clinic.
• Patients' caries risk was assessed using CAMBRA, Cariogram, and CRS.
• Diagnostic agreement was quantified using the Kappa coefficient.

Main Results:

• The Caries Risk Semaphore (CRS) classified 48% of patients as high risk, 14% as moderate risk, and 38% as low risk.
• The highest diagnostic agreement was observed between CRS and CAMBRA (unweighted Kappa = 0.36).
• Agreement for risk severity was highest between CRS and CAMBRA for low (Kappa = 0.46), moderate (Kappa = 0.14), and high risk (Kappa = 0.40).

Conclusions:

• Significant heterogeneity exists among the results obtained from the three caries risk assessment methods.
• Further research is needed to ascertain the predictive capabilities of different caries risk assessment tools to guide clinical selection.