Evaluation of the depth of non-cavitated carious lesions by radiographs

ABSTRACT

Aims: To evaluate and compare the depths of white and brown spot, non-cavitated, carious lesions by radiographs.Methods: Thirty white spot and 25 brown spot, non-cavitated carious lesions from proximal surfaces of extracted premolar and molar teeth were selected. The bucco-lingual dimension (size) of all lesions was measured using a vernier caliper. The teeth were radiographed. Three observers scored the lesions’ depths from the radiographs.  The lesions’ depths in ground sections were used as the gold standard. The depths of the white and brown spot lesions were compared. The relationship between the depth and the sizes of both types of lesion were evaluated. The depths measured on the radiographs were compared to those of the gold standard. Results: The white lesions were significantly deeper than the brown lesions. Radiographically, most of the brown lesions (72%) showed no radiolucency. Of the white lesions, 50% had lesion depths limited to enamel and 36.7% showed no radiolucency.  The remainder had lesions reaching at least to the DEJ. However, the ground sections showed that 60% of the white lesions reached at least to the DEJ. There was a significant correlation between the radiographic depth and the lesions’ sizes in only the white lesions. Compared to the gold standard, the radiographic measurement underestimated the lesions’ depths, equally for both white and brown spot lesions.Conclusions: For both radiographic and ground section examinations, white spot lesions were deeper than brown spot lesions. Therefore, they should be given more attention in disease prevention and treatment. Radiographs should be used as one of the aids for treatment planning of non-cavitated, carious, especially white, lesions. Key Words non-cavitated carious lesion, depth, radiograph