Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29980199›Full record

ArticleBMC oral health2018

Comparison of caries lesion detection methods in epidemiological surveys: CAST, ICDAS and DMF.

Ana Luiza Sarno Castro, Maria Isabel Pereira Vianna, Carlos Maurício Cardeal Mendes

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC oral health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.7field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Impact of Teaching Strategies on Caries Detection and Management.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2025
    Article
  4. Observational
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  7. Review
  8. Dental pain in Brazilian preschool children: association with the severity of dental caries and impact on oral health-related quality of life.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2024
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
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  14. Article
  15. Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children of Ambala District: A Cross-sectional Study.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2022
    Article
  16. Article
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  18. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ana Luiza Sarno CastroDepartment of Health, State University of Feira de Santana, Transnordestina, s/n, Novo Horizonte, Feira de Santana, Bahia, CEP 44036-900, Brazil. alscastro@yahoo.com.br.ORCID 0000-0002-3896-6770
Maria Isabel Pereira ViannaDepartment of Public Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Bahia, Araújo Pinho, 62, Canela, Salvador, Bahia, CEP 40110040, Brazil.
Carlos Maurício Cardeal MendesPostgraduate Studies in Interactive Processes of Organs and Systems, Health Science Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Avenida Reitor Miguel Calmon, 1272, Salvador, Bahia, CEP 40231300, Brazil.
Universidade Federal da Bahia · BRUniversidade Estadual de Feira de Santana · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough dental caries is a globally widespread disease, there is no consensus regarding the method that should be used for their detection. In recent decades, a variety of new methods have been proposed for measuring caries in a population. Three caries detection methods, the decayed, missing and filled (DMF) index, the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) and the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST), were compared to provide information to guide future method choices.

methodsThis was a descriptive, cross-sectional study in which three methods were used to measure caries in students, staff and their dependents at UNEB (State University of Bahia), Salvador, Brazil. We compared the mean application time of each method and the frequencies obtained by each method using the following indicators: the most severe caries lesion per individual; the mean number of missing, filled and decayed teeth; and the disease extent.

resultsThe mean time taken to apply the DMF was 3.8 min; for ICDAS, it took 8.9 min, and for CAST, 4.7 min. When calculating the indicator the most severe caries lesion per individual, the prevalence rates were as follows: 28.1% for DMF, 84.0% for ICDAS and 75.0% for CAST. The mean numbers of decayed, missing and filled teeth were 6.0 according to the DMF, 6.2 according to ICDAS and 5.9 according to CAST. When the disease extension indicator was used, the following percentages of teeth were affected by caries: DMF 22.12%, ICDAS 49.11% and CAST 33.2%.

conclusionsThe DMF underestimated the occurrence of caries lesions in individuals but was the fastest method to apply. ICDAS obtained detailed information regarding lesion severity, but it was a time-consuming method and difficult to analyse. CAST described disease distributions very well and identified lesion severities and preventive and curative needs in the examined group, and the time required to apply CAST was similar to that of the DMF.

Indexed as

DMF IndexAdolescentCross-Sectional StudiesDental CariesFemaleHumansMaleObserver VariationSeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and QuestionnairesTime FactorsYoung AdultCASTDMF indexEpidemiological surveysEpidemiologyICDAS

Identifiers

PMID29980199
PMCPMC6035475
OpenAlexW2871283428

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.