Background and purpose: Dental caries are highly prevalent and their exact detection at initial stages is necessary. The laser-based DIAGNOdent device is used to detect these caries. The aim of this study was to assess the level of agreement between visual observation, bitewing radiographs, and DIAGNOdent system in detection of proximal caries in clinical applications.
Materials and methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 102 eligible teeth surfaces were selected and presence of proximal caries was assessed by visual observation, bitewing radiographs, and DIAGNOdent system under standard situation. The agreement between different techniques was assessed by Kappa statistics in SPSS V20.
Results: The prevalence of proximal caries in DIAGNOdent system, visual observation, and bitewing radiographs were 36 teeth surfaces (35.3%) 13 teeth surfaces (12.7%), and 24 teeth surfaces (23.5%), respectively. In assessing the agreement between visual observation and DIAGNOdent system the Kappa value was 0.222 (P< 0.006) and it was 0.255 (P< 0.006) between visual observation and bitewing radiographs. This value was 0.303 (P< 0.001) between bitewing radiographs and DIAGNOdent system.
Conclusion: In this research poor agreement was observed between visual observation, bitewing radiographs, and DIAGNOdent system. But, further studies with more specimens are required.