Reliability of ICDAS to Detect Occlusal Caries among Master’s Degree students of Dentistry

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of the International System for the Detection and Evaluation of Caries (ICDAS) for the diagnosis of caries by students of the Master's Degree in Dentistry (n = 25). The occlusal surfaces of human third molars (n = 14) were evaluated by twenty-five (n = 25) students using the ICDAS index and later a questionnaire was applied on demographic and professional context data. The dental crowns were sectioned in mesial to distal direction to obtain slices of 1mm in thickness which were observed in a stereomicroscope (40X) to identify the greatest extension of caries lesion. Data were analyzed by the Chi-Square, Fisher's Exact and Spearman's Correlation Coefficient at a significance level of 5%. There was an influence in the diagnosis of caries among students and teeth, where the majority of those who declared themselves to be safe missed the diagnosis. There was variability between the diagnosis and the proposed treatment for caries, with a better diagnosis for tooth VII and less for X; greater fit for treatment of teeth XIII, XIV and lower for IV, VI. The histological cut showed that the teeth were more affected by caries than the ICDAS. It was concluded that the ICDAS reproducibility was partially satisfactory when the occlusal surface was evaluated by the master’s degree students. Keywords: Dental Caries. Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures. Therapeutics. Resumo Este trabalho teve o objetivo de investigar a reprodutibilidade do Sistema Internacional de Deteccao e Avaliacao de Carie (ICDAS) para o diagnostico da carie, por estudantes de curso de Mestrado em Odontologia (n=25). As superficies oclusais de terceiros molares humanos (n=14) foram avaliadas por vinte e cinco (n=25) estudantes, utilizando o indice ICDAS, e posteriormente foi aplicado questionario sobre dados demograficos e de contexto profissional. As coroas dentarias foram seccionadas no sentido mesio distal para obter fatias de 1 mm de espessura, que foram observadas em estereomicroscopio (40X) para identificar a maior extensao da lesao de carie. Os dados foram analisados pelos Testes Qui-Quadrado, Exato de Fisher e Coeficiente de Correlacao de Spearman, em nivel de significância de 5%. Houve influencia do grau de instrucao dos estudantes no diagnostico da carie em relacao ao dente avaliado e a maioria que se declarou segura errou o diagnostico. Houve variabilidade entre o diagnostico e o tratamento proposto para a carie, com maior acerto para diagnostico do dente VII e menor para o X; maior acerto para tratamento dos dentes XIII, XIV e menor para IV, VI. O corte histologico mostrou que os dentes estavam mais comprometidos pela carie que o ICDAS. Concluiu-se que a reprodutibilidade do ICDAS foi satisfatoria quando a superficie oclusal foi avaliada pelos mestrandos. Palavras-chave: Carie Dentaria. Tecnicas e Procedimentos Diagnosticos. Terapeutica.