Application of caries assessment spectrum and treatment instrument for staging and evaluating treatment needs of an adult population - A hospital based cross-sectional study

Background: Application of caries assessment spectrum and treatment (CAST) instrument for staging and evaluating treatment needs of an adult population suffering from dental carious lesionObjectives: Study was conducted with aim of applying CAST instrument for staging adult urban Indian population according to severity of carious lesion and treatment needs required.Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 300 adult patients. After training session and calibration of examiner, all patients were examined for the caries experience and CAST codes were recorded on a structured proforma.Results: Of 300 adult patients, 18% (54) adults have healthy dentition denoted by codes 0,1, and 2. 12 % and 15.3% adults were in reversible premorbidity stage (code 3) and morbidity stage (codes 4 and 5) respectively. The largest number of adults 29.7% were seen in serious morbidity stage (codes 6 and 7) followed by 21.3% adults in mortality stage (code 8) requiring either root canal treatment or extraction and replacement of teeth as treatment needs.Conclusion: CAST instrument has been found useful in staging adult population suffering with dental carious lesion and evaluating their treatment needs. Moreover, CAST is easy to apply for staging the carious lesion due its hierarchical structure and reporting results in an understandable manner.Keywords: Adults; Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment; Dental Caries; Treatment needs.

The ADEPT study: a comparative study of dentists' ability to detect enamel-only proximal caries in bitewing radiographs with and without the use of AssistDent artificial intelligence software

Introduction Reversal of enamel-only proximal caries by non-invasive treatments is important in preventive dentistry. However, detecting such caries using bitewing radiography is difficult and the subtle patterns are often missed by dental practitioners.Aims To investigate whether the ability of dentists to detect enamel-only proximal caries is enhanced by the use of AssistDent artificial intelligence (AI) software.Materials and methods In the ADEPT (AssistDent Enamel-only Proximal caries assessmenT) study, 23 dentists were randomly divided into a control arm, without AI assistance, and an experimental arm, in which AI assistance provided on-screen prompts indicating potential enamel-only proximal caries. All participants analysed a set of 24 bitewings in which an expert panel had previously identified 65 enamel-only carious lesions and 241 healthy proximal surfaces.Results The control group found 44.3% of the caries, whereas the experimental group found 75.8%. The experimental group incorrectly identified caries in 14.6% of the healthy surfaces compared to 3.7% in the control group. The increase in sensitivity of 71% and decrease in specificity of 11% are statistically significant (p <0.01).Conclusions AssistDent AI software significantly improves dentists' ability to detect enamel-only proximal caries and could be considered as a tool to support preventive dentistry in general practice.

Comparitive evaluation of BMI & academic performance in ECC & non ECC 3-6 yr old school going children

To study the association between ECC, IQ & health in Sri ganganagar, Rajasthan. to assess BMI & academic performance in ECC & Non ECC 3-6yr old school going children in Sri ganganagar, Rajasthan. A total of 300 children were evaluated and oral examination was done using BMI scale – CDC (Centers for disease control and prevention), Weight scale- Unificare company Height scale – 200 cm Roll Ruller wall Mounted Height Stadiometer, Academic performance grade as per school record & Dentition status for caries assessment was conducted using dmf index of WHO form 1997. . A total of 300 school going children were selected from Sri ganganagar, Rajasthan of which 150 were having ECC & 150 Non ECC in the age groups of 3, 4, 5 and 6 years. Correlation between the ECC & Academic performance is stated.

Métodos de detecção e diagnóstico de cárie: uma revisão narrativa

A cárie dentária é uma das doenças crônicas mais prevalente nas pessoas em todo o mundo, os indivíduos estão suscetíveis a está doença em todas as fases da vida. O objetivo deste trabalho foi revisar na literatura quais são as ferramentas disponíveis para o diagnóstico e detecção da cárie e suas lesões. Foi realizado uma coleta de dados no PubMed, no período de janeiro de 2019 e junho de 2020, com as palavras chave: “dental caries” AND “diagnostic” AND “ICDAS”, sem restrição de idioma ou pais de publicação. Foram encontrados diversos métodos de detecção, como: ICDAS (International Caries Detection and Assessment System), Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment – CAST), DIAGNOdent® - LF; DIAGNOdent pen, CarieScan PRO (CP),VistaCam, DMF (Decayed–Missing–Filled - DMF) e outros. A utilização do ICDAS nas recomendações de tratamento para lesões de cárie variou entre os examinadores. O uso de um explorador na avaliação de lesões de cárie aumentou a validade e a confiabilidade da decisão sobre cavitação superficial. A tomada de decisão sobre o tratamento pode ser influenciada pelo sistema de detecção e classificação da lesão de cárie. A pesquisa apontou que existem variações entre os estudos e a utilização do sistema ICDAS para cárie. O sistema ideal de detecção de cárie deve permitir o diagnóstico precoce da cárie em estágio inicial e melhorar a tomada de decisão em relação a um plano de tratamento adequado.

Testing the efficacy of a brief-caries risk assessment form to evaluate the dental health status among preschool children, Bangkok, Thailand

PurposeThe study aims to test the efficacy of brief-caries risk assessment form with standard caries risk assessment form and to evaluate the application of caries risk assessment following American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) between brief and standard caries risk assessment on dental health status among preschool children.Design/methodology/approachBrief-caries risk assessment form was developed. Then, experimental study was conducted in public health center 54 among 70 patients (35 test and 35 control) from January to July 2019. Test group used brief-caries assessment form, and control group used standard form. Both groups received the same caries risk assessment criteria and management protocol from AAPD. At baseline, 3-month and 6-month follow-up, caries risk and dental health status (plaque index, cavitated caries lesion and non-cavitated caries lesion) were assessed. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistic, t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and repeated measures ANOVA.FindingsPercentage of high caries risk decreased from baseline (93.9%: test and 96.9%: control) to 6-month follow-up (66.7%: test and 65.6%: control) in both groups, with no statistically significant differences between groups. Plaque index, cavitated caries lesion and non-cavitated caries lesion were not statistically significant differences between groups. Brief-caries assessment decreased times/visit from 10-15 minutes to 5 minutes.Originality/valueBrief-caries assessment form decreased caries risk and prevented dental caries as the standard form. Using brief-caries assessment form could save time, is cost-effective and is appropriate for use in public health centers. However, a short follow-up time might have insufficient power to detect the differences between groups.