Emerging Diagnostic Tools for Early Caries Detection
Though dental caries remains among the most prevalent of diseases globally, the developed world has seen a decrease in prevalence.1 This decline in prevalence has come about through the use of remineralization techniques, especially those involving fluoride. The resultant slower progression of carious lesions offers dental care providers the challenge of diagnosing and intervening in the disease process at an earlier stage, before cavities exist.
The standard diagnostic armamentarium in use by most dental care providers today comprises visual inspection, use of an explorer, and radiography. The diagnosis is typically “You do, or you don’t have a cavity,” and refinements of those techniques continue. For example, the International Caries Detection and Assessment System provides a unified set of visual criteria by which the level and activity of caries can be classified. Explorers are used to lightly assess surface hardness rather than for forceful probing. Both developments acknowledge that caries is a dynamic disease process involving cycles of demineralization and remineralization that occur before a cavity presents.
An ideal early detection system would allow the monitoring of the continuum of caries development, and allow for appropriate intervention before cavitation occurs.1 The system would have high sensitivity, specificity, precision, and accuracy. It would be easy to use, applicable to all surfaces and to all patients, and would allow the assessment of a lesion’s activity by identifying whether it is remineralizing, demineralizing, or dormant.
Read the rest on the Colgate Oral Care Report web site
The standard diagnostic armamentarium in use by most dental care providers today comprises visual inspection, use of an explorer, and radiography. The diagnosis is typically “You do, or you don’t have a cavity,” and refinements of those techniques continue. For example, the International Caries Detection and Assessment System provides a unified set of visual criteria by which the level and activity of caries can be classified. Explorers are used to lightly assess surface hardness rather than for forceful probing. Both developments acknowledge that caries is a dynamic disease process involving cycles of demineralization and remineralization that occur before a cavity presents.
An ideal early detection system would allow the monitoring of the continuum of caries development, and allow for appropriate intervention before cavitation occurs.1 The system would have high sensitivity, specificity, precision, and accuracy. It would be easy to use, applicable to all surfaces and to all patients, and would allow the assessment of a lesion’s activity by identifying whether it is remineralizing, demineralizing, or dormant.
Read the rest on the Colgate Oral Care Report web site
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