OBSERVER AGREEMENT IN THE DETECTION OF PROXIMAL CARIES WITH DIRECT DIGITAL INTRAORAL RADIOGRAPHY

Objective. The aim of this study was to compare several values for con sistency obtained by charged-coupled-device-based direct digital intra oral radiography with those obtained by conventional film-based radiog raphy to evaluate observer agreement in determining the depth of proxi mal caries. Study design. A total of 93 proximal surfaces on radiologi c images that were obtained by both the conventional film-based bitewi ng technique and by direct digital intraoral radiography were evaluate d by six observers. One of these observers also evaluated the same ima ges six months after the initial evaluation. The kappa value, consiste ncy ratio, agreement ratio, and Kendall's correlation coefficient were calculated for interobserver and intraobserver agreement. Results. Th e overall kappa values for interobserver agreement were 0.439 and 0.42 4 in the direct digital system and the film-based radiography, respect ively. The depth-related change of the values showed similar patterns in the two modalities for both interobserver and intraobserver agreeme nt. Conclusion. The digital intraoral system resulted in no deteriorat ion in observer agreement and it presents no problems for clinical use with respect to the reliability of diagnosis.