A closer look at diagnosis in clinical dental practice: part 4. Effectiveness of nonradiographic diagnostic procedures and devices in dental practice.

This article, the fourth in a series, examines nonradiographic procedures and devices such as standard clinical and visual examination, apex locators, vitality testers and colour shade guides in light of the tools described in the first 2 articles in the series. A variety of nonradiographic indices and scales are used in detecting periodontal disease and monitoring and assessing its treatment. The reliability of these diagnostic procedures directly affects treatment success, decisions to initiate more aggressive clinical interventions, and the ability to make an informed prognosis about the course of the disease. However, in many instances, the dependability of the measurements remains to be established.