Addressing the caries dilemma: detection and intervention with a disclosing agent

This study was undertaken after a joint symposium (in March 1993) of the operative section of the American Association for Dental Research and the cariology and diagnostic groups of the International Association for Dental Research called for investigation into new diagnostic modalities to determine and standardize criteria for reliable caries detection. As the incidence, prevalence, and progression rate of caries decline in Western countries, concern grows about the technical and clinical development involved in teaching dental students to diagnose the status and stage of carious lesions reliably. In this in vitro study, the disclosing agent Cari-D-Tech (Gresco Product Inc., Stafford, TX) was tested to validate its efficacy based on histologic specificity as its mode of detecting infected dentin. Extracted human teeth with clinical caries were sectioned into representative paired samples to create two groups. After dental excavation, with or without use of the disclosing agent, the teeth were coded to identify the method of removing caries. The coded samples were prepared to provide histologic specimens. Results showed that all infected dentin was removed, demonstrating the efficacy of this disclosing agent.