Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study

Abstract Objectives The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of teledentistry (based on a home intraoral imaging protocol) in detecting dental caries and to assess the accuracy of this method compared to clinical examination. Methods Forty‐three patients were recruited for the study...

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Main Authors: Francesca Zotti, Luca Rosolin, Francesco Simoncelli, Davide Pappalardo, Annalisa Cominziolli, Nicoletta Zerman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-12-01
Series:Clinical and Experimental Dental Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/cre2.663
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author Francesca Zotti
Luca Rosolin
Francesco Simoncelli
Davide Pappalardo
Annalisa Cominziolli
Nicoletta Zerman
author_facet Francesca Zotti
Luca Rosolin
Francesco Simoncelli
Davide Pappalardo
Annalisa Cominziolli
Nicoletta Zerman
author_sort Francesca Zotti
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objectives The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of teledentistry (based on a home intraoral imaging protocol) in detecting dental caries and to assess the accuracy of this method compared to clinical examination. Methods Forty‐three patients were recruited for the study. Using a protocol for taking intraoral photographs at home with a smartphone proposed by the Dental School of Verona, a remote diagnosis of dental caries (TD) was performed by an experienced dentist. The same caries sites were also assessed by clinical diagnosis (CD) by a second experienced dentist. Ten photos were taken at home in five different perspectives, with and without flash, and emailed to one of the authors. The best five photos were selected for telediagnosis. The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II) score was used for caries diagnosis. Statistical tests were performed: Sensitivity and specificity of TD, the positive and negative predictive value of TD (PPV–NPV), and Spearman correlation to evaluate the relationship between the scores of TD and CD. Results A total of 430 photographs were submitted; TD was performed on 215 photographs and 43 patients were visited. A total of 1201 teeth were analyzed. The sensitivity of TD was 74.0, the specificity was 99.1, the PPV of TD was 91.7, and the NPV was 96.4. The Spearman correlation was 0.816, showing a very strong correlation between the values obtained with TD and CD. Conclusions The study showed good potential for TD, which proved to be a feasible method to combine with routine caries diagnosis in daily preventive dentistry practice.
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spelling doaj.art-38c50c7aa7d846beb3fe88b87442f6f92022-12-22T03:02:27ZengWileyClinical and Experimental Dental Research2057-43472022-12-01861614162210.1002/cre2.663Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional studyFrancesca Zotti0Luca Rosolin1Francesco Simoncelli2Davide Pappalardo3Annalisa Cominziolli4Nicoletta Zerman5Department of Surgical Sciences, Paediatrics and Gynecology University of Verona Verona ItalyPrivate Practice in General dentistry in Verona Verona ItalyPrivate Practice in General dentistry in Verona Verona ItalyPrivate Practice in General Dentistry in Padova Padua ItalyDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Paediatrics and Gynecology University of Verona Verona ItalyDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Paediatrics and Gynecology University of Verona Verona ItalyAbstract Objectives The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of teledentistry (based on a home intraoral imaging protocol) in detecting dental caries and to assess the accuracy of this method compared to clinical examination. Methods Forty‐three patients were recruited for the study. Using a protocol for taking intraoral photographs at home with a smartphone proposed by the Dental School of Verona, a remote diagnosis of dental caries (TD) was performed by an experienced dentist. The same caries sites were also assessed by clinical diagnosis (CD) by a second experienced dentist. Ten photos were taken at home in five different perspectives, with and without flash, and emailed to one of the authors. The best five photos were selected for telediagnosis. The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II) score was used for caries diagnosis. Statistical tests were performed: Sensitivity and specificity of TD, the positive and negative predictive value of TD (PPV–NPV), and Spearman correlation to evaluate the relationship between the scores of TD and CD. Results A total of 430 photographs were submitted; TD was performed on 215 photographs and 43 patients were visited. A total of 1201 teeth were analyzed. The sensitivity of TD was 74.0, the specificity was 99.1, the PPV of TD was 91.7, and the NPV was 96.4. The Spearman correlation was 0.816, showing a very strong correlation between the values obtained with TD and CD. Conclusions The study showed good potential for TD, which proved to be a feasible method to combine with routine caries diagnosis in daily preventive dentistry practice.https://doi.org/10.1002/cre2.663dental cariesdiagnosisoral diagnosistelemedicine
spellingShingle Francesca Zotti
Luca Rosolin
Francesco Simoncelli
Davide Pappalardo
Annalisa Cominziolli
Nicoletta Zerman
Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study
Clinical and Experimental Dental Research
dental caries
diagnosis
oral diagnosis
telemedicine
title Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study
title_full Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study
title_fullStr Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study
title_short Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study
title_sort telediagnosis of dental caries possible or impossible a pilot cross sectional study
topic dental caries
diagnosis
oral diagnosis
telemedicine
url https://doi.org/10.1002/cre2.663
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AT lucarosolin telediagnosisofdentalcariespossibleorimpossibleapilotcrosssectionalstudy
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AT davidepappalardo telediagnosisofdentalcariespossibleorimpossibleapilotcrosssectionalstudy
AT annalisacominziolli telediagnosisofdentalcariespossibleorimpossibleapilotcrosssectionalstudy
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