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Autotransplantation of donor teeth, at the stage of ½ to ¾ of their expected root length, can provide a successful treatment solution for over 14 years.

The objective of this in vivo study was to evaluate the performance of a laser fluorescence device in detecting dentinal caries in noncavitated occlusal surfaces. The sample included 102 first and second permanent molars, selected according to the criteria of Ekstrand et al. [Caries Res 1997;31:224–231]: 46 not suspected of having dentinal caries (score: 0–2) and 56 under suspicion (score: 3–4). Once measured by laser fluorescence, all were validated by fissurotomy (gold standard). To avoid ethical questions, the 46 teeth (score: 0–2) used were to serve as abutments for a fixed-fixed bridge. Visual inspection performed well, showing a sensitivity and specificity of 0.93 and 0.88, respectively. Laser fluorescence had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of A_z = 0.85. The cutoff point with the highest sensitivity and specificity was 20, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.89 and 0.75, respectively.

Statistical deficiencies in leakage studies may affect their results and interpretation and might be one of the reasons for the poor agreement amongst the reported findings. Therefore, more effort should be made to standardize statistical methodology.