Predictors of coronal caries progression in adults: results from the Prevention of Adult Caries Study

Caries reporting in studies that used the International Caries Detection and Assessment System: A scoping review

OBJECTIVE

To explore how caries was reported in studies that employed the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS).

METHODS

A systematic database search up to August 2017 was carried out using PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane library and ISI Web of Science electronic databases. Only studies that used the ICDAS for dental caries examinations were included. Studies were excluded if the examination was done only for the validation or the calibration of the ICDAS and/or if the examination was not done for the whole dentition. Measures used to report caries were considered.

RESULTS

A total of 126 papers met the inclusion criteria. Forty-four different synthesis measures were used to report caries. Most of the studies used a combination of multiple measures to report patient's caries level. These reporting measures cluster into four main groups: the number of individual ICDAS scores (ie, total counts of every score); the number of decayed surfaces/teeth (ie, total counts of combined caries scores for surfaces or teeth); measures of caries experience (ie, total counts of combined caries scores, filled and/or missing surfaces or teeth); and measures of central tendency and dispersion. The number of decayed surfaces and individual ICDAS scores were the most commonly used measures. Three studies used mean ICDAS score (ie, total ICDAS scores divided by the number of teeth), two used mean ICDAS score of carious teeth (ie, total ICDAS scores divided by the number of carious teeth) and two used the maximum ICDAS score (ie, highest ICDAS score recorded). The total ICDAS score was used only once. Many studies synthesized from the ICDAS the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth/surfaces (dmft/DMFT, dmfs/DMFS) as a measure of caries experience.

CONCLUSIONS

There are variations among studies in the utilization of the system to summarize caries. Most studies presented caries data using the categorical characteristics of the ICDAS.

Detecting Short-Term Changes in the Activity of Caries Lesions with the Aid of New Technologies

This paper discusses the use of new technologies for the assessment of caries and more in particular changes in caries activity. Over the past decades, we have seen a shift from restorative treatment caries to a prevention-driven approach. Also there is a need for shorter and less expensive caries clinical trials. These demand earlier detection of lesions and the monitoring of lesion changes longitudinally in time, which has led to the development of new technologies to aid clinical visual examination. Also clinical visual inspection indices have been refined to fit this purpose. There is a constant flow of technologies emerging and disappearing. This review discusses the merits of recent developments regarding their respective uses for research purposes in testing new caries prevention strategies as well as in clinical caries management in dental private practice. Which technique to choose highly depends on the needed resolution of information.