Caries diagnosis in the mixed dentition using ICDAS II

Abstract

Objective: To assess the dental caries prevalence with ICDAS II in the mixed dentition, 40 children aged 7 to 11 years old, participating in a social program, whose parents and/or guardians signed a informed consent form. Material and Methods: Clinical examination was carried out after brushing. A single researcher performed the examination and the diagnosis consistency was obtained by Kappa coefficient in 12% of the sample. All dental surfaces were examined receiving a two-digit code. The first one refers to the presence of restoration/sealant and the second, the severity of carious lesions. The data was processed at SPSS software version 10.0 and analyzed using descriptive statistics (absolute distribution, percentage, mean and standard deviation). Results: The coefficient intra-examiner agreement was 0,83. Caries prevalence was considered high because 100% of the children had some surface with non-cavitated caries lesion. ICDAS II can be easily transformed to dmf-s or DMF-S without compromising its integrity. For dmf-s/DMF-S decayed surfaces were considered ICDAS codes 3 to 6, resulting in a dmf-s = 6,57 where 11 children (27,5%) presented no decayed deciduous teeth surface. DMF-S = 2,0 showed that 15 children (37,5%) had none decayed permanent surface, determining a underestimation of the caries disease when using dmf-d/dmf-s and DMF-S indexes. Conclusion: A careful viewing of initial caries lesions makes ICDAS II usefull in evaluating the health promotion actions impact, supporting the planning process, implementation and evaluation of program activities.