Diagnosis of dentin involvement in occlusal caries based on visual and radiographic examination of the teeth

The purpose of the present study was to examine the validity of visual, radio-graphic and combined visual-radiographic examination of occlusal caries, with special reference to the diagnosis of dentin lesions, using the microscopic diagnosis after sectioning the teeth as validating criterion. Thirty extracted permanent molar teeth with signs of occlusal caries were selected and radiographed using a standard method similar to bitewing. Ten dentists, five from the Department of Cariology and Endodontics and five from the Department of Pedodontics, were asked to make a visual, radiographic and combined visual-radiographic caries examination with an interval of at least 1 month between different examinations. The teeth were sectioned bucco-lingually and the caries assessed as enamel or dentin lesion in a stereomicroscope. The sensitivity/specificity of the diagnoses of dentin lesions was 0.72/0.41 for the visual, 0.66/0.50 for the radiographic, and 0.86/0.64 for the combined visual-radiographic examinations. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) method revealed a statistically significant difference between combined visual-radiographic examination and the two other, but not between the isolated visual or radiographic examination. It is concluded that the combined use of visual and radiographic examination is belter than either visual or radiographic examination alone.