Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

6 questions · 12 findings · 4 reviews · Dental caries

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No studies found 2 · 16.7%GRADE not reported 10 · 83.3%Very low 0 · 0%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Histological validation (serial sectioning, grinding, hemisection, or microradiography)

Diagnostic accuracy for occlusal caries detection at the dentin caries detection level (D0-2 versus D3-4) · Extracted human permanent posterior teeth (premolars and molars), occlusal (pit-and-fissure) surfaces

In in vitro, fibre-optic transillumination pooled specificity was 0.97 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.994) for occlusal caries at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review

Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
Specificity 0.97 [0.89, 0.994]
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
DOR 37.77 [13.69, 104.19]
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
AUC 0.92
2 studies
GRADE not reported

Show 1 more finding

Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
Sensitivity 0.49 [0.20, 0.79]
2 studies
GRADE not reported

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Histological validation (serial sectioning, grinding, hemisection, or microradiography)

Diagnostic accuracy for occlusal caries detection at the caries detection level (D0 versus D1-D4) · Extracted human permanent posterior teeth (premolars and molars), occlusal (pit-and-fissure) surfaces

In in vitro, fibre-optic transillumination pooled sensitivity was 0.97 (95% CI -0.92 to 0.99) for occlusal caries at the caries detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review

Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
Sensitivity 0.97 [-0.92, 0.99]
1 study
GRADE not reported
Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
AUC 0.92
1 study
GRADE not reported
Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
DOR 38.33 [10.15, 144.77]
1 study
GRADE not reported

Show 1 more finding

Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic methods for occlusal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
in vitro
Specificity 0.50 [0.34, 0.66]
1 study
GRADE not reported

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Histological validation (in vitro) or direct visual examination after tooth separation / bioptical cavity preparation (in vivo)

detection of proximal caries · Permanent posterior teeth, proximal surfaces (in vitro extracted teeth and in vivo patients)

For fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI), studies were identified (in vitro N=4, in vivo N=3) but none had sufficiently low risk of bias and adequate reporting to be pooled; no meta-analytic estimate could be derived.

1 finding from 1 review

Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic studies of proximal surface caries. 2021 All outcomes
In vitro and in vivo; permanent posterior teeth, proximal surfaces
no estimate extracted
0 studies
No studies found

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

Sensitivity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…

1 finding from 1 review

Transillumination and optical coherence tomography for the detection and diagnosis of enamel caries 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo; in vitro no limit if stored appropriately)
Sensitivity 0.47 [0.35, 0.59]
8 studies
GRADE not reported

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

Specificity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…

1 finding from 1 review

Transillumination and optical coherence tomography for the detection and diagnosis of enamel caries 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo; in vitro no limit if stored appropriately)
Specificity 0.92 [0.86, 0.96]
8 studies
GRADE not reported

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI, including white light scattering and near infrared) vs Reference standard: histology or enhanced visual-tactile examination

Outcome not reported · Adults presenting asymptomatically or suspected of having root caries (in vivo); extracted teeth of adults (in vitro)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Tests to detect and inform the diagnosis of root caries 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes
Fibre-optic transillumination was a pre-specified eligible index test but no diagnostic test accuracy study of fibre-optic transillumination was included.
0 studies
No studies found