Journal List > J Korean Acad Oral Health > v.38(2) > 1057629

Jung, Lee, Kang, Kwon, and Kim: Assessing the clinical validity of a new caries activity test using dental plaque acidogenicity

Abstract

Objectives

This study was aimed at evaluating the clinical usability of a new caries activity test (Cariview®), which was based on the acidogenic potential of plaque by evaluating it’s correlation with the DMFT index and comparing the results of Cariview® with those of previous caries activity tests in an adult group.

Methods

Teeth of 74 subjects were examined, and the DMFT index was calculated according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria to determine the past caries experience. Caries activity tests were performed according to manufacturer’s instructions. For Cariview® test, plaque samples were collected from the tooth surface by using a sterile cotton swab and incubated at 37°C for 48 h; an indicator was added to observe the color changes according to the plaque acidogenicity. The subjects were classified into three groups (Low, Moderate, High) according to the level of caries risk. The data were assessed using one-way ANOVA to compare the caries experiences of risk groups according to the caries activity test results, and the relationships between the caries activity tests and the DMFT index were evaluated.

Results

The overall mean DMFT index was 5.70±4.42. There was a significant difference in the DMFT index among the caries risk groups (Low, Moderate, High) according to the Cariview® test result (P=0.036). Further, there was a positive correlation between the Cariview® score and the DMFT index (r=0.23, P=0.047) and between the Cariview® score and the previous caries activity tests score (P<0.01).

Conclusions

The new caries activity test (Cariview®) can be easily used at dental clinics and enables precise caries risk assessment.

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Fig. 1.
Cariview® kit (A), Optical analysis using Spectrometer (B), Scales for diagnostic agent of Cariview® (C).
jkaoh-38-77f1.tif
Fig. 2.
Distribution of Caries Activity Group according to Caries Activity Tests (n=74). Each value represents the number of population (%).
jkaoh-38-77f2.tif
Table 1.
Means of DMFT Index according to Caries Activity Tests (n=74)
Caries Activity Tests Groups DMFT Mean±S.D. P-value DT Mean±S.D. P-value FT Mean±S.D. P-value
Cariview® Low 4.58±3.76a 0.036 0.65±1.70a 0.396 3.90±3.61a 0.046
Moderate 5.77±4.03a,b 1.16±1.39a 4.61±3.84a,b
High 8.42±5.95b 0.91±1.48a 7.50±6.42b
Dentocult SM® 0 4.91±3.66a 0.346 0.63±1.16a 0.029 4.26±3.50a 0.215
1 6.70±4.82a 1.65±2.01a 5.05±4.88a
≥2 7.75±6.54a 0.63±1.06a 7.13±6.58a
Dentocult LB® 0 4.69±4.02a 0.122 0.85±1.29a 0.720 3.81±3.63a 0.321
1 6.13±5.06a 1.07±1.86a 5.07±5.19a
≥2 6.44±3.75a 0.72±1.02a 5.72±3.51a

Each value represents the mean ± standard deviation for DMFT Index. Within same column, different letters denote significant differences between groups by Scheffe’s post hoc test at a=0.05.

Table 2.
Correlations between the Caries Experience and Caries Activity Tests (n=74)
Caries experience (DMFT index) Cariview® Dentocult SM® Dentocult LB®
r 0.23 0.19 0.19
P 0.047* 0.097 0.113

r means Spearman correlation coefficient. *P<0.05.

Table 3.
Correlations between the Cariview® and Previous Caries Activity Tests (n=74)
Cariview® Dentocult SM® Dentocult LB®
r 0.42** 0.35**
P 0.000 0.002

r means Spearman correlation coefficient. **P<0.01.

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