Evaluation of the efficacy of DIAGNOdent Laser in Comparison with Clinical Observation Technique in Occlusal Caries Diagnosis

Considering the high prevalence of dental caries, early detection of occlusal caries, which is difficult is very important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two methods of clinical observation and DIAGNOdent laser in the diagnosis of occlusal caries.

In this experimental study, 75 qualified molar teeth were evaluated for occlusal caries by clinical observation and DIAGNOdent laser techniques. Then, after caries removal (as gold standard), the depths of cavities were measured with a probe. Finally, data analysis was performed using SPSS 21 software and kappa test. Efficiency, agreement and correlation between the mentioned methods were determined.

The efficacy of occlusal caries detection is significant in both clinical observation and DIAGNOdent methods compared to the gold standard (For both: P = 0). According to evaluation of agreement with gold standard, Kappa value was 0.59 for clinical observation and 0.29 for DIAGNOdent laser. Evaluation of the correlation between the two methods, the r value for clinical observation and gold standard was 0.7 and for laser and gold standard was 0.54.

The significant relationship between both clinical observation and DIAGNOdent laser with gold standard showed occurrence of diagnostic error in both methods. However, clinical observation is a more effective way to evaluate early occlusal caries in comparison to DIAGNOdent. Clinical observation and the gold standard also have a direct and relatively strong relationship