Simona Stoleriu, Galina Pancu, Gianina Iovan, Angela Ghiorghe, Sorin Andrian
The aim of this study was to compare the validity of ICDAS and WHO systems in detecting incipient occlusal carious lesions. 106 areas of 53 teeth were selected from 33 volunteers aged between 16 and 65. The selected areas were evaluated by visual examination using WHO and ICDAS II criteria for detecting carious lesions. All the surfaces were assessed by two different examiners. The teeth were then extracted, visual and histological evaluated. McNemar test was used to compare the performances of the different visual methods and the different examination conditions. Inter- and intra-examiner reproducibility was assessed using the Kappa test. Higher sensitivity and specificity values were obtained for visual examination using the ICDAS system both in vivo and in vitro. The level of inter-examiner agreement during the visual examination through the WHO system was lower than in the case of the ICDAS II system. ICDAS II system showed good performance in early occlusal caries detection.