G. Maupome et A. Sheiham, DECISIONS ON DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF APPROXIMAL CARIES BY FINAL-YEAR DENTAL STUDENTS, Dento-maxillo-facial radiology, 26(2), 1997, pp. 107-111
Objectives: To investigate the decision-making processes for dental ca
ries from bitewing radiographs of final-year dental students in Mexico
City. Methods: Five sets of radiographs were converted to slides and
projected on a screen under standardized conditions. 143 students were
asked to determine separately the presence of all proximal caries, of
proximal lesions to be restored in the present course of treatment, a
nd of unreadable surfaces due to technical deficiencies. A gold standa
rd was obtained from two expert clinicians who examined the radiograph
s under similar conditions. Results: Misdiagnoses were common. Overdia
gnoses became evident at the treatment planning stage where many surfa
ces were incorrectly planned for restoration. Subjective appraisals of
presence of lesions, unreadable surfaces, and surfaces planned for re
storation showed substantial variation. Conclusions: Students' overall
assessment of lesions detected did not differ between restored and un
restored surfaces. However, when compared with the gold standard, thei
r decisionmaking was found to be better on surfaces which had not been
restored previously as opposed to those already restored, both in ter
ms of identification of lesions and in terms of treatment planned for
deeper lesions.