Relating visual and radiographic ranked scoring systems for occlusal caries detection to histological and microbiological evidence.

This study compared a visual ranked scoring system and a radiographic ranked scoring system for occlusal caries detection with the level of infection of dentin. Seventy-five third-molars, designated for extraction, were professionally cleaned. Caries was scored according to a visual ranked scoring system at a selected site in the groove-fossa system.

Effect of contact media on the diagnostic quality of electrical resistance measurements for occlusal caries.

Background: Electrical resistance measurements have been used for the diagnosis of occlusal caries. Both site and surface-specific techniques have been described, the latter more suited to clinical trials or epidemiological surveys. For surface-specific measurements the tooth is dried and a contact medium drawn along the fissure pattern to provide an electrical contact between a probe tip and the tooth surface.