Resumo

LOIOLA, Ana Bárbara de Araújo; OLIVEIRA, Ana Luísa Botta Martins de; CORDEIRO, Rita de Cássia Loiola  e  SANTOS-PINTO, Lourdes Aparecida Martins dos. Accuracy of radiographic examination in determining the depth of approximal carious lesions in primary molars. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2012, vol.60, n.4, pp. 461-466. ISSN 1981-8637.

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the depth of carious lesions on bitewing radiographs. Methods Recently extracted primary molars had their proximal surfaces evaluated visually (EC) and classified as healthy surface (0), signs that suggest the presence of carious lesions in enamel (1), signs of a superficial lesion in dentin (2) and carious lesions in deep dentin (3). Results The results were obtained by consensus between the investigators. The gold standard was determined by histological analysis. The values of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under the ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve were evaluated. There was equilibrium between sensitivity (76.92% EC and 88.46% ER) and specificity (95.83% EC and 95.83% ER). Accuracy was 86.01% (EC) and 88.46% (ER). The Spearman correlation test was used to prove the correlation between clinical and radiographic examinations (0.886), for clinical and histological (0.736) and for radiographic and histological analysis (0.843). Conclusion The radiographic examination showed better performance in detection of proximal caries in primary teeth.

Palavras-chave : Dental caries.; Radiography bitewing.; Tooth deciduous..