Evaluation of three diagnostic methods for initial proximal caries detection in primary molars

The proximal surfaces of primary molars in 100 selected children were examined for initial caries using three different diagnostic methods: 1--Clinical examination. 2--Fiber-optic transillumination. and 3--Bite-wing radiographic examination. Clinical examination revealed 65 initial proximal lesions, 101 lesions were detected by fiber-optic transillumination, while bite-wing radiographs verified 131 lesions. Agreement between clinical and bite-wing radiographic examinations was 49.6%, while fiber-optic transillumination showed a 77.1% agreement with bite-wing radiographic examination. The three tested diagnostic methods showed no significant difference in detecting proximal lesions in the upper and lower molars, the right and left sides or the mesial and distal surfaces, except for clinical examination which tended to miss more distal lesions.