| Gonzalez-Cabezas C, Fontana M, Eckert GJ, Stookey GK,Wefel JS (2003) Early Detection and Monitoring of Secondary Caries around Amalgam, Composite, and Glass-ionomer Restorations.. J Dent Res. 82: p. B-353 |
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Traditional diagnostic techniques detect secondary caries (SC) when it is relatively advanced and when significant tissue has been lost. Objective: To validate newer technologies [Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence (QLF) and DIAGNOdent (DG)] for monitoring incipient secondary caries surrounding different types of restorative materials. Methods: Human molars were used, on which a 1x4x1.5 mm cavity was prepared and restored with amalgam (study 1), composite (study 2) and glass ionomer (study 3). SC lesions were developed using a microbial caries model for 3, 5 and 7 days. Uninoculated specimens served as a control. At the end of the studies, specimens were analyzed using QLF and DG, sectioned, stained with Rhodamine B, and analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and polarized light microscopy (PLM) to validate the presence and extent of the lesions. Results: In study 1 (amalgam), significant differences (p<0.05) were found with QLF parameter DQ, DG and CLSM (depth, area and total fluorescence) between all the different time groups, except 3-day and 5-day data. In study 2 (composite), similar significant differences were found, except between 5-day and 7-day data. In study 3 (glass ionomer) only control and 3-day data were not significantly different. For all 3 studies, QLF DQ and DG correlations with CLSM data ranged from 0.82-0.91 and from 0.62-0.79, respectively. Correlations between PLM and CLSM were significantly different from 0 and nearly perfect for the composite and glass ionomer restorations, and were around 0.8 for the amalgam group. Conclusion: Results from these in vitro studies demonstrate the potential of these techniques for the detection and monitoring of early SC around different types of dental materials. They also support the strong correlation between PLM and CLSM. These studies were funded by the National Institute of Health (USA) grant #P01 DE13540. |