Clinical performance of clinical-visual examination, digital bitewing radiography, laser fluorescence, and near-infrared light transillumination for detection of non-cavitated proximal enamel and dentin caries.

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical performance of clinical-visual examination using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) II, digital bitewing radiography, near-infrared light transillumination (NIR-LT), and laser fluorescence (LF) for the detection of non-cavitated proximal enamel and dentin caries. The study included 335 patients, aged 12-18 years, with no cavities in the posterior teeth. Clinical-visual inspections of 335 non-cavitated proximal caries were performed by two examiners. For enamel caries, clinical validation included a combination of clinical-visual and digital bitewing radiography assessments. For dentin caries, the clinical validation was opening the cavity. The accuracy rate, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and areas under receiver operating characteristic curves were determined. The agreement between the examiners' measurements was calculated using the kappa coefficient. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the methods were compared using the McNemar test. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. Digital bitewing radiography had the highest sensitivity (0.96) and accuracy (0.96), and LF had the lowest sensitivity (0.38) and accuracy (0.39). After separation of the lesions into enamel and dentin caries, clinical-visual examination had the highest sensitivity (0.98) and accuracy (0.98) for enamel caries, while digital bitewing radiography had the highest sensitivity (0.97) and accuracy (0.97) for dentin caries. The NIR-LT method had a higher sensitivity for enamel caries (0.86). Each method also differed significantly from the others (p < 0.001). Digital bitewing radiography gave the best prediction of proximal enamel and dentin caries. NIR-LT showed good potential for detection of proximal caries.

Morphological Assessment of Maxillary Sinus Septa Variations with Cone-Beam Computed Tomography in a Turkish Population.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to measure and classify sinus septa variables (prevalence, numbers, heights, locations, orientations, and morphology) and to determine the effects of age, gender, and dental status on the presence of septa and also to evaluate the effects of septa on pathological mucosal thickening. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 2,000 patients were analyzed through conebeam computed tomography (CBCT). The total of 500 maxillary sinuses were included in this study. The number of maxillary sinus septa was determined on axial sections of CBCT images. Their locations, orientations, and morphologies were determined on both the axial and sagittal sections, and their heights were determined only on the sagittal sections. The influence of age, gender, dental status, and pathological mucosal thickening on the presence of septa was statistically analyzed. Mann-Whitney U-test and descriptive statistics were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The average height of the determined 287 septa was measured as 7.36 mm. The highest rates of septa location, morphology, and orientation were found, respectively, in the middle region septa (57.49%), completed septa (75.95%), and transverse septa (93.37%). The effect of dental status, age, and gender on the presence of septa was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: These high rates of findings support the importance of CBCT in the diagnosis of the variations of the maxillary sinus septa. Therefore, it is important to evaluate CBCT images of the relevant region to increase the success of surgical interventions in the maxillary posterior region and to eliminate possible complications.