The impact of magnification on occlusal caries diagnosis with implementation of the ICDAS II criteria.

Aim: This study compared the impact of low-powered magnification on the detection of occlusal caries.

Methods: The occlusal surfaces of 38 extracted teeth received caries ICDAS classification with and without magnification by two examiners. Histology was used as the gold standard.

Results: No significant differences existed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, LR+, LR- and Az values for the two examiners and modalities. Interexaminer agreement was almost perfect for grades 0, 2, 3 irrespective of magnification. For grade 1, magnification resulted in lower agreement than unaided vision.

Conclusion: Magnification does not improve the detective performance of visual examination.