Non-Cochrane · prevalence · PM41331196
Radiographic artifacts in the diagnosis of dental caries: systematic review with meta-analysis.
Dioguardi Mario, Guerra Ciro, Sovereto Diego, et al. · Oral radiology · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1007/s11282-025-00879-2
Findings
8 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deciduous and permanent maxillary molars on bitewing radiographs | Presence of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucency (TSR) | None (single-arm prevalence) | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars Primary molars | Proportion 0.477 [0.225, 0.728] GRADE not reported 1 study · 219 participants |
| Deciduous and permanent maxillary molars on bitewing radiographs | Presence of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucency (TSR) | None (single-arm prevalence) | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars Raw pooled proportion, permanent molars (first molars) | Proportion 0.274 GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Deciduous and permanent maxillary molars on bitewing radiographs | Presence of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucency (TSR) | None (single-arm prevalence) | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars Raw unweighted proportion, all maxillary molars | Proportion 0.2644 GRADE not reported 2 studies · 1021 participants |
| Deciduous and permanent maxillary molars on bitewing radiographs | Presence of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucency (TSR) | None (single-arm prevalence) | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars Permanent molars | Proportion 0.199 [0.036, 0.363] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 802 participants |
| Deciduous and permanent maxillary molars on bitewing radiographs | Presence of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucency (TSR) | None (single-arm prevalence) | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars | Proportion 0.308 [0.129, 0.487] Low Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency 2 studies · 1021 participants |
| Deciduous and permanent maxillary molars on bitewing radiographs | Presence of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucency (TSR) | None (single-arm prevalence) | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars Raw pooled proportion, primary molars | Proportion 0.511 GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Observers (clinicians or students) evaluating radiographic optical effects (TSR or Mach band) on intraoral radiographs | Interpretation of radiographic optical effects (TSR or Mach band) as caries or fracture | None (single-arm proportion) | Proportion of false-positive diagnoses | Proportion 0.133 [0.041, 0.225] Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, indirectness 3 studies · 464 participants |
| Observers (clinicians or students) evaluating radiographic optical effects (TSR or Mach band) on intraoral radiographs | Interpretation of radiographic optical effects (TSR or Mach band) as caries or fracture | None (single-arm proportion) | Proportion of false-positive diagnoses Raw unweighted proportion | Proportion 0.1293 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 464 participants |
Included primary studies 6
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khayam 2013 Evaluation of the relative frequency of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucencies in the first and second permanent molars – Bitewing… DOI:10.1016/j.ijd.2012.11.002 | 2013 | this review only | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars | not extracted yet |
| Kuhnisch 2008 Frequency of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucencies on bitewing radiographs DOI:10.1259/dmfr/79243767 | 2008 | this review only | Prevalence of non-carious TSR on mesial surfaces of maxillary molars | not extracted yet |
| Movahhedian 2016 How does triangular-shaped radiolucency affect caries diagnosis? DOI:10.1007/s11282-016-0243-y | 2016 | this review only | Proportion of false-positive diagnoses; PM41331196-P4-O1 | not extracted yet |
| Nielsen 2001 Effect of Scenario and Experience on Interpretation of Mach Bands DOI:10.1097/00004770-200111000-00009 | 2001 | this review only | PM41331196-P4-O1 | not extracted yet |
| Nielsen 2001 Effect of scenario and experience on interpretation of mach bands. PMID:11716082 | 2001 | this review only | Proportion of false-positive diagnoses | not extracted yet |
| Tabari 2021 Frequency of caries in triangular-shaped radiolucencies on periapical radiographs of maxillary deciduous second molars. PMID:35265287 | 2021 | this review only | Proportion of false-positive diagnoses; PM41331196-P4-O1 | not extracted yet |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Primary outcome: deciduous and permanent molars subjected to dental radiography; secondary outcome: observers (clinicians or students) evaluating radiographic effects (TSR or Mach band) | Maxillary primary and permanent molars on bitewing radiographs (257 patients, 1021 teeth, n=2 studies); observers in in vitro, in vivo and simulated settings (n=3 studies, 464 observations) |
| Intervention | Presence of non-carious triangular-shaped radiolucencies (TSR); diagnostic interpretation of TSR or Mach band as caries or fracture | Non-carious TSR (n=2 studies); TSR or Mach band misinterpreted as caries or fracture (n=3 studies) |
| Comparison | None (prevalence or proportion study, no control group) | None |
| Outcomes | Prevalence of non-carious TSR; proportion of incorrect (false-positive) diagnoses; also sensitivity, specificity, interobserver agreement as eligible outcomes | Prevalence of non-carious TSR (n=2); proportion of false-positive diagnoses (n=3) |
| Study designs | Original clinical, in vitro and ex vivo studies on intraoral bitewing or periapical radiographs | Cross-sectional and retrospective studies (n=2); in vitro, in vivo and simulated studies (n=3) |
| Timing | Not specified | Not specified |