During an ongoing randomized clinical trial to evaluate the benefits of early treatment of incipient carious lesions in the pits and fissures of posterior teeth, an ideal opportunity presented to also investigate the change over time of DIAGNOdent (DD) measurements of untreated control teeth enrolled in the study. At first only one DD measurement was taken on each tooth. It soon became apparent that there were slight variations if a second measurement was taken. Objectives: This clinical study evaluates the reproducibility of DD measurements when evaluating incipient carious lesions in posterior teeth. Methods: Thirty-two teeth (4 premolars and 28 molars) were evaluated as often as every 6 months over a period of 18 months in this clinical study. The DD unit was calibrated just prior to evaluating each tooth. After tracing the pits and fissures of each tooth for 15 seconds, the maximum reading was recorded. This process was repeated and the second maximum reading was recorded. 79 paired recordings were obtained in the above manner. A paired t-test was utilized to test for differences of the mean of readings one and two. To assess repeatability, the first recorded reading was subtracted from the second and the results tabulated. Results: The means of the first and second readings were 21.16 and 21.62 respectively. The paired samples correlation was 0.927 with p<0.0005. There was no significant difference between the first and second readings (p=0.366). The percent agreement between the first and second readings were: complete agreement, 12.7%; within +/- 1, 33.0%; within +/- 2, 58.2%; within +/- 3, 65.8%; within +/- 4, 77.2%; within +/- 5, 86.1%; within +/- 6, 91.1%. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between the first and second DD readings.

Partially supported by Delta Dental Fund of Michigan

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