DIAGNOdent measurements and correlation with the depth and volume of minimally invasive cavity preparations.

In this clinical study, DIAGNOdent (KaVo) was used to assess previously diagnosed carious lesions in the pits and fissures of first and second molars. The measurements from this device were correlated with the depth and volume of the cavity preparations that resulted from minimal intervention to remove occlusal carious lesions. Twenty-five patients, 18 years of age and older, who were previously scheduled for an occlusal restoration due to caries, were recruited and enrolled in this clinical study. These patients had 48 qualifying teeth without previous restorations, sealants or other carious lesions. The occlusal surface of each study tooth was cleaned utilizing ProphyFlex2 (KaVo). Two dentists separately traced the pit and fissure system of each tooth using DIAGNOdent for two 15-second periods each. The peak reading of each of the four measurements was recorded. An impression of the occlusal surface of each tooth was recorded with a polyvinyl siloxane bite registration material. The carious lesions were removed with an air abrasion unit employing a 0.015-inch nozzle opening utilizing minimal operative intervention. A low viscosity polyvinyl siloxane was used to take an impression of the cavity preparation impression, using the bite registration impression to form the occlusal surface of the preparation impression. The preparation impression volume was calculated from its weight, using the known density of the impression material. The greatest depth of the preparation was measured. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate any relationship between depth or volume of the preparation impression and the DIAGNOdent measurements. The correlation for preparation volume and maximum DIAGNOdent measurement was 0.191 (p = 0.189). Other logical subsets of cases also did not result in any statistically significant correlations between the DIAGNOdent readings and the depth or volume of the final cavity preparations.