ArticleJournal of the American Dental Association (1939)2017
Surface characteristics and lesion depth and activity of suspicious occlusal carious lesions: Findings from The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.
Article in Journal of the American Dental Association (1939), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of fluoride varnish treatment of postorthodontic white spot lesions by visual inspection and laser fluorescence-A randomized controlled study.Clinical and experimental dental research · 2022Trial
- Photonic Methods for the Assessment of Lesion Activity.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Recruitment strategies and retention rates for five National Dental PBRN studies.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA lesion on an occlusal tooth surface with no cavitation and no radiographic radiolucency but in which caries is suspected owing to surface roughness, opacities, or staining can be defined as a suspicious occlusal carious lesion (SOCL). The authors' objective was to quantify the characteristics of SOCLs and their relationship to lesion depth and activity after these lesions were opened surgically.
methodsNinety-three dentists participated in the study. When a consenting patient had an SOCL, information was recorded about the tooth, lesion, treatment provided, and, if the SOCL was opened surgically, its lesion depth. The Rao-Scott cluster-adjusted χ
resultsThe authors analyzed 1,593 SOCLs. Lesion color varied from yellow/light brown (40%) to dark brown/black (47%), with 13% other colors. Most (69%) of SOCLs had a rough surface when examined with an explorer. Over one-third of the SOCLs (39%) were treated surgically. Of the 585 surgically treated SOCLs, 61% had dentinal caries. There were statistically significant associations between lesion depth and color (P = .03), luster (P = .04), and roughness (P = .01). The authors classified 52% of the patients as being at elevated caries risk. The authors found no significant associations between lesion depth and patient risk (P = .07).
conclusionsAlthough statistically significant, the clinical characteristics studied do not provide accurate guidance for making definitive treatment decisions and result in high rates of false positives. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Given that 39% of the opened lesions did not have dentinal caries or were inactive, evidence-based preventive management is an appropriate alternative to surgical intervention.
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