Awareness, knowledge and treatment decisions for erosive tooth wear: A case-based questionnaire among Danish dentists.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the knowledge and experience of erosive tooth wear (ETW) among Danish dental practitioners and, based on two cases, explore their treatment decisions. METHODS: We sent a validated questionnaire electronically to all active members of The Danish Dental Association and The Association of Public Health Dentists in Denmark. The questionnaire had two parts; the first focused on scoring, recordkeeping, knowledge and experience of ETW. The second part presented two patients with different severity of erosive lesions to explore the dentists preventive and restorative treatment decisions. RESULTS: We received 442 answers from 4,490 potentially eligible dentists in Denmark (response rate 9.8%). The majority (78%) was female and the median age was 44 years. Nearly all respondents (97%) registered ETW in the charts and 49% recorded "always" or "often" the patients' diet history, most commonly with aid of interviews. The respondents perceived the prevalence of ETW to be higher today than 10-15 years ago and male patients (15-25 years) appeared more affected than females. The majority (82%) thought that they usually found the probable cause of the condition with carbonated beverages being the most common factor. The treatment included dietary guidance, soft tooth brushing with non-abrasive fluoride toothpaste, topical fluoride applications and direct composite restorations. CONCLUSION: The majority of Danish dentists taking part of this survey had adopted a minimally invasive approach for the management of erosive tooth wear in young adults. There was however room for improvements in diagnosis, scoring and case documentation.

Effect of fluoride varnish with functionalized tri-calcium phosphate on post-orthodontic white spot lesions: an investigator-blinded controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of a 5% sodium fluoride varnish with functionalized tri-calcium phosphate (fTCP) on post-orthodontic white spot lesions. A secondary aim was to study if the patients and their clinicians perceived clinical improvements. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Fifty-nine patients with at least two visible WSLs on their maxillary incisors, canines, or first premolars present at the debonding of fixed appliances (baseline) were enrolled and assigned to a Varnish group (Clinpro White Varnish, 3M Espe) receiving topical applications at baseline and after 8 weeks, or a Control group treated with a fluoride-free mock product. The primary endpoint was white spot lesion appearance after 16 weeks, assessed from photographs using the modified ICDAS white spot lesion score (0 to 3). The patients and the dental examiners rated the white spot lesions subjectively with aid of a visual analog scale. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients completed the study. After 16 weeks, 62% of the white spot lesions in the Varnish group were completely reversed (score 0) compared to 39% in the Control group. The treatment effect was statistically significant (OR 0.22; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.59, P = .003) after adjusting for baseline oral hygiene index and type of tooth. A significant correlation (P < .05) was observed between patients' and orthodontists' perception of the lesions. CONCLUSION: The 5% sodium fluoride varnish with fTCP appeared clinically effective in reversing post-orthodontic white spot lesions 16 weeks after debonding. The patients and the clinicians agreed on the obtained esthetic improvements.

Monitoring regression of post-orthodontic lesions with impedance spectroscopy: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if the alternating current impedance spectroscopy (ACIS) technology could be used to monitor remineralization of post-orthodontic white spot lesions (WSLs) after debonding of fixed orthodontic appliances. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 28 adolescents (aged 12-16 years) with at least two WSLs on their maxillary incisors, canines, or first premolars at debonding. Buccal surfaces (n = 194) were visually examined and scored with modified International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria and with the CarieScan Pro device by three examiners according to manufactures manual (test method). In addition, 31 surfaces with ICDAS = 0 were monitored by ACIS, serving as controls. Follow-up examinations were carried out after 8 and 16 weeks. Modified ICDAS scores, captured from digital photographs by three independent examiners, served as reference method. Four patients were lost to follow-up. Data were analysed in a mixed statistical model considering systematic effects of visit, tooth and observer, random effects of patients, and visits within patients. RESULTS: Over 50 per cent of all surfaces had marked WSL at baseline and the corresponding values at 8 and 16 weeks were 33 per cent and 22 per cent. The ACIS readings mirrored the visual scores; the baseline estimate (56.3) was significantly decreased after 8 weeks (P < 0.05). The lateral incisors exhibited the highest values whereas the lowest were recorded for the central incisors. LIMITATIONS: ICDAS is not the same as a 'true' gold standard. The high prevalence of WSL may jeopardize the external validity. CONCLUSION: The ACIS technology may to some extent be used to monitor the regression of post-orthodontic WSLs.

In-vivo performance of impedance spectroscopy, laser fluorescence, and bitewing radiographs for occlusal caries detection.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical performance of impedance spectroscopy, laser fluorescence, and bitewing radiographs in detecting occlusal caries and compare them with visual scores. METHOD AND MATERIALS: In 62 adults, one occlusal surface per person was selected and independently examined by two examiners using the visual ICDAS scoring system, CarieScan PRO (ACIS), DIAGNOdent pen (LF-pen), and bitewing radiographs. The procedures were repeated within 1 to 4 weeks. The diagnostic performance was expressed as sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, accuracy, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) using ICDAS as gold standard. Intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility was assessed with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for numerical results and kappa values for categorical data. Five patients dropped out due to no-shows or restorative care. RESULTS: In total, 54% of the teeth had early or no lesions (ICDAS 0 to 2) while 46% exhibited moderate to extensive lesions (ICDAS 3 to 5). The Spearman correlation coefficients were 0.65, 0.60, and 0.71 for ICDAS vs ACIS, LF-pen, and bitewing radiographs, respectively. ACIS demonstrated high specificity and positive predictive values but low sensitivity, whereas LF-pen had moderate sensitivity and high specificity. Accuracy and DOR was highest for bitewing radiographs. The ICC values ranged between 0.65 and 0.88 for ACIS and 0.89 and 0.94 for LF-pen. The weighted kappa values were 0.81 to 0.91 for ICDAS and 0.90 to 0.92 for bitewing radiographs. CONCLUSION: All three methods were useful for detecting occlusal caries but bitewing radiography exhibited the best performance when compared with visual scoring. ACIS displayed the highest specificity and positive predictive value but the sensitivity was low and the clinical handling was less convenient. Further clinical studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effects of early caries detection on dental health.

Detection of occlusal caries with impedance spectroscopy and laser fluorescence before and after placement of fissure sealants: An in vitro study.

PURPOSE: To (1) investigate the influence of fissure sealants on impedance spectroscopy (ACIS) and laser fluorescence (LF) readings, (2) compare the performance of the ACIS device with the LF technique and visual inspection (ICDAS) in permanent molars with various degrees of occlusal caries, and (3) validate all methods against radiographs and histological hemi-sectioning. METHODS: 102 permanent molars were randomly selected to represent different stages of occlusal caries, from clinically sound to minor cavities. The teeth were examined by one trained examiner and scored with CarieScan PRO, the DIAGNOdent pen and ICDAS at baseline, after bleaching, etching and placement of a clear fissure sealant. A digital radiograph was exposed at baseline. After the assessments, the actual lesion depth was histologically determined. RESULTS: Bleaching did not affect the readings but significantly higher ACIS and LF-pen values were recorded after acid etching (P< 0.05). The placement of a fissure sealant increased the LF-pen readings significantly (P< 0.05) while no values could be obtained with the ACIS device. Both the baseline ACIS and LF-pen values were significantly associated (P< 0.05) with the lesion depth but visual inspection displayed the best correlation with radiographs and histology. The ACIS technology displayed high sensitivity and specificity for detecting extensive occlusal lesions. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The findings demonstrated that placement of a fissure sealant had a significant impact on the ACIS and LF-pen readings. Both methods mirrored the actual histological and radiographic lesion depth to various extents but could not match the performance of visual inspection.

Detection of non-cavitated occlusal caries with impedance spectroscopy and laser fluorescence: an in vitro study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of an impedance spectroscopy technology for detecting non-cavitated occlusal caries lesions in permanent teeth in vitro. The method was compared with a commonly used laser fluorescence device and validated against histology. MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY: A non-cavitated sample of 100 extracted posterior teeth was randomly selected and assessed for caries on enamel and dentin level with aid of CarioScan PRO (ACIS) and DIAGNOdent pen (LF pen) by three examiners. After the measurements, the extension of the lesion was histologically determined as gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and receiver-operating curves were calculated. Intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility was expressed by intra class correlation coefficients. RESULTS: The histological caries prevalence was 99% and 41% exhibited dentin caries. The ACIS technique displayed high specificities but almost negligible sensitivities at readings >50. A similar pattern was noted for the LF pen at readings >30. The intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility varied between 0.47 and 0.98 and the values were generally lower for the ACIS technique than for the LF pen. The inter-examiner agreement reached excellent levels with both methods. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro,the ACIS technique showed a low ability to disclose occlusal caries lesions in the enamel and/or dentin of non-cavitated permanent molars. However, further in vivo studies of permanent occlusal surfaces are needed to mirror the clinical situation.