• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.169-179
• /
• 2000

The purpose of this study is to develop the system which convert the optical difference of teeth texture between intact enamel and incipient caries lesion into shade difference by laser fluorescence and to develop new and simple caries activity test using laser fluorescence. The experimental design of this study consists of three parts. In first part, a new method for the in vitro assessment of changes in initial enamel caries lesion of Bovine teeth using laser fluorescence is tested. In second part, in vivo assessment undertaken. Number of teeth which showed incipient carious lesion on buccal surface examined by laser fluorescence was compared with the caries activity test of $Cariescreen^{(R)}$ test and other oral environmental test of dDfFtT. In third part, new caries activity test measured by laser fluorescence was developed on the basis of above results and evaluated the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic power. Optical density measured by laser fluorescence was increased as increasing the depth of incipient carious lesion and showed high correlation$(\gamma=0.7015)$ with lesion depth. Optical density showed direct proportion to lesion depth. Linear equation was obtained between the optical density and the lesion depth by regression analysis. The result of caries activity test with laser fluorescence showed high correlation with those of $Cariescreen^{(R)}$ test and dDfFtT examination. Caries activity test with laser fluorescence showed 48% of sensitivity, 52% of specificity, and 45% of diagnostic power on the basis of dDfFtT examination, and also showed 48% of sensitivity, 51% of specificity, and 36% of diagnostic power on the basis of $Cariescreen^{(R)}$ test. In regard above result, caries activity test with laser fluorescence considered to be reliable for caries activity test compared with other oral environmental test. and it was also considered to be practical because it would be simple, inexpensive, and time saving method.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.615-623
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the specificity, sensitivity, and diagnostic power of caries activity test using LED fluorescence. The subjects of this study were 55 children of $6{\sim}7$ years old. LED light were irradiated to labial or buccal surface of all teeth. Fluorescence from initial carious lesion of teeth illuminated by an LED light was observed through barrier filter and the number of teeth showing lesion, size and position of lesion were counted. Streptococcus mutans colony counting and dDfFtT rate test were also done and their correlation was compared. And then specificity, sensitivity, diagnostic power of optical caries activity test using LED light were evaluated. 1. There was positive $correlation({\gamma}=0.43)$ between LED fluorescence test and Streptococcus mutans count(P<0.05). 2. When visual examination was defined to standard testing method, the specificity, sensitivity, diagnostic power of LED fluorescence test were 100%, 76.1%, and 100%. 3. When dDfFtT rate was defined to standard testing method, the specificity, sensitivity, diagnostic power of LED fluorescence test were 88.9%, 47.8%, and 95.7%. 4. When S. mutans colony counting was defined to standard testing method, the specificity, sensitivity, diagnostic power of LED fluorescence test were 100%, 58.7%, and 100%. Considering the above results, optical caries activity test using LED light could be regarded as a practical method because of its close relationship with microbiological caries activity test.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.671-679
• /
• 2004

The purpose of this study was to develop a practical caries activity test by fluorescence using laser, plasma light and halogen light. The subjects of study were 45 children of 7-8 years old Argon laser, plasma light and halogen light were irradiated to buccal or labial surface of all teeth. Fluorescence of initial carious lesion from teeth was observed through barrier filter and the number of teeth showing lesion was counted. Visual examination for the dDfFtT, mutans streptococci screening test and Lactobacilli colony counting were also done. Data analysis was accomplished by Axelsson's method. The result from the present study can be summarized as follows. 1. Laser, plasma light and halogen light could detect the initial carious lesions better than visual examination(p<0.05). 2. There was positive correlation between laser(r=0.42), plasma light(r=0.41), halogen light(r=0.39) and dBfFtT rate(p<0.01). 3. The specificity sensitivity and predictive value was showed highest value in laser, but was showed favorable value in plasma light and halogen light. In regard to above results, laser, plasma light and halogen light all considered to be reliable method for determining individual caries activity. And they were also considered to be practical method because it would be simple, inexpensive, and time saving method.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.16-24
• /
• 2001

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the specificity, sensitivity, and diagnostic power of caries activity test using laser fluorescence. The subjects of this study were 50 children of $7\sim9$ years old. Fluorescence from initial carious lesion of teeth illuminated by an argon laser(480nm) was observed and photographed with barrier filter. Visual examination for the dDfFtT rate and Streptococcus mutans colony counting was done to evaluate correlation with caries activity test using laser fluorescence. Data analysis was accomplished by Axelsson's method. The results from the present study can be summarized as follows: 1. There was positive correlation $(\gamma=0.48)$ between laser fluorescence test and Streptococcus mutans count. And also positive correlation $(\gamma=0.39)$ exists between laser fluorescence test and dDfFtT rate (P<0.01). 2. Positive correlation $(\gamma=0.27)$ between Streptococcus mutans colony count and dDfFtT rate was found(P<0.05). 3. When dDfFtT rate was defined to standard testing method, the specificity, senstivity, and diagnostic power of laser fluorescence test were 44.4%, 85.7%, and 87.8%. 4. When dDfFtT rate was defined to standard testing method, the specificity, senstivity, and diagnostic power of S. mutans colony counting were 77.8%, 92.9%, 84.8%. 5. When S. mutans colony counting was defined to standard testing method, sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic power of laser fluorescence test were 40.0%, 84.8%, 95.1%. In regard to above results, laser fluorescence test considered to be accurate and reliable method for determining caries activity because of it's close relationship with caries susceptibility test and caries experience measurements. And it was also considered to be practical because it would be simple, inexpensive, and time saving method.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.254-262
• /
• 2003

Dental caries has a multifactorial aetiology in which there is an interplay of three principal factors: the host(saliva and teeth), the microflora(dental plaque) and the substrate(diet), and a fourth factor time. There is no single test that takes into consideration all these factors and can accurately predict an individual's susceptibility to dental caries. The risk of dental caries can be evaluated by analysing and integrating several causative factors. The objective of the study was to clarify the relationship between caries activity and the status of caries of primary teeth and the relationship between the quantity of S. mutans in the dental plaque and the status of dental caries. Forty nine children ages 5 were examined with caries indices, Dentocult-SM and quantity of S. mutans. The results were as follows: All the survey results were similar with national means of 5-6 years Korean preschool children. The deft index of subjects was 5.46 and defs index was 9.81. There was 8.6% of negative, 10.9% of mild, 28.1% of moderate and 52.3% of active results at screening strip test. 8.6% was negative, 17.2% was mild, 33.6% was moderate and 40.6% was active in site strip test. The Spearman correlation coefficient was 0.775, and overall kappa index was 0.496 between screening strip test and site strip test. There also was a high correlation between caries incidence, Dentocult-SM test, and quantity of S. mutans. Dentocult-SM test as a caries activity test is a reliable method for measuring the status of dental caries in primary teeth.