Question · asked by 1 review
Near-infrared (NIR) transillumination vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation): Sensitivity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries
- Population
- Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or adults (in vitro studies); teeth apparently healthy or with suspected early caries. Studies intentionally including caries obviously into dentine or frank cavitation, or participants referred to secondary care for restorative treatment, were excluded. Target condition: early (non-cavitated enamel-only) coronal dental caries on occlusal, approximal, or smooth surfaces
- Intervention
- Near-infrared (NIR) transillumination
- Comparison
- Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)
- Outcome
- Sensitivity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries
What each review found
Current versions only| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Near-infrared (NIR) transillumination vs Reference standard: histology, or enhanced visual examination with or without radiographs (also operative excavation, tooth separation, or microcomputed tomography) Sensitivity for detection of enamel/early caries · Children or adults presenting asymptomatically or suspected of having enamel caries (clinical/in vivo studies);… · Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo; in vitro no limit if stored appropriately) Transillumination and optical coherence tomography for the detection and diagnosis of enamel caries (2021) · Cochrane All outcomes | Sensitivity 0.58 [0.46, 0.68] | 5 studies | GRADE not reported |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transillumination and optical coherence tomography for the detection and diagnosis of enamel caries 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes | 2019-02-15 | Not listed | Not assessed |
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.