To reduce risk of failure, dentists might consider using MTA instead of calcium hydroxide (CH) for direct capping. Current evidence is insufficient for definitive recommendations.

Secondary caries lesions are the main late complication of dental restorations, limiting their life span and generating costs by repeated reinterventions. Accurate detection of secondary lesions is crucial for estimating the true burden of the disease and allocating appropriate treatments. We aimed to assess the accuracy of detection methods for secondary caries lesions. Clinical or in vitro studies were included that investigated the accuracy of 5 detection methods--visual, tactile, radiography, laser fluorescence, quantitative light-induced fluorescence--of natural or artificially induced secondary lesions, as verified against an established reference test. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, as well as diagnostic odds ratios were calculated and publication bias assessed. From 1,179 screened studies, 23 were included. Most studies were performed in vitro, on permanent posterior teeth, and had high risk of bias or applicability concerns. Lesions were on proximal (14 studies) or other surfaces and adjacent to amalgam (16 studies) or tooth-colored materials. Visual (n = 11), radiographic (n = 13), and laser fluorescence detection (n = 8) had similar sensitivities (0.50 to 0.59) and specificities (0.78 to 0.83), with visual and laser fluorescence assessment being more accurate on nonproximal surfaces and adjacent to composites, respectively. Tactile assessment (n = 7) had low accuracy. Light-induced fluorescence (n = 3) was sensitive on nonproximal surfaces but had low specificities. Most analyses seemed to suffer from publication bias. Despite being a significant clinical and dental public health problem, detection of secondary caries lesions has been assessed by only a few studies with limited validity and applicability. Visual, radiographic and laser-fluorescence detection might be useful to detect secondary lesions. The validity of tactile assessment and quantitative light-induced fluorescence remains unclear at present.

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When choosing detection methods for secondary caries lesions, dentists need to weigh sensitivity, allowing early initiation of retreatments to avoid lesion progression, against specificity, aiming to reduce risks of false-positive diagnoses and invasive overtreatments. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of different detection methods for proximal secondary lesions using Monte Carlo microsimulations. A vital permanent molar with an occlusal-proximal restoration was simulated over the lifetime of an initially 20-y-old. Three methods were compared: biannual tactile detection, radiographic detection every 2 y, and biannual laser fluorescence detection. Methods were employed either on their own or in pairwise combinations at sensitive and specific thresholds estimated with systematically collected data. A mixed public-private payer perspective in the context of German health care was applied. Effectiveness was calculated as years of tooth retention. Net-benefit analyses were used to evaluate cost-effectiveness acceptability at different willingness-to-pay thresholds. Radiographic detection verified by tactile assessment (both at specific thresholds) was least costly (mean, 1,060 euros) but had limited effectiveness (mean retention time, 50 y). The most effective but also more costly combination was laser fluorescence detection verified by radiography, again at specific thresholds (1157 euros, 53 y, acceptable if willingness to pay >32 euro/y). In the majority of simulations, not combining detection methods or applying them at sensitive thresholds was less effective and more costly. Net benefits were not greatly altered by applying different discounting rates or using different baseline prevalence of secondary lesions. Current detection methods for secondary lesions should best be used in combination, not on their own, at specific thresholds to avoid false-positive diagnoses leading to costly and invasive overtreatment. The relevant characteristics, such as predictive value, of different methods should be assessed in longitudinal clinical studies.

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