In Vivo Comparison of White Spot Lesions Using the Enamel Decalcification Index and Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence Measurement During Orthodontic Therapy

Abstract

Background/Objectives: To compare the quantitative assessment methods, visual-tactile examination and fluorescence measurement, for the detection of white spot lesions (WSL) in adolescents with a multibracket appliance (MB).Material & Methods: The study included 28 subjects (14 ♂, 14 ♀) with MB in the maxilla and mandible. Data collection took place before (T0), half a year after (T1), and one year after the insertion of the MB (T2), using the Enamel Decalcification Index (EDI) developed by Banks & Richmond (1994, levels 0-3) and the quantitative light-induced fluorescence measurement (QLF).Results: At T0, n = 4 (14%) subjects were free of lesions. Six months after the onset of MB (T 1), n = 2 subjects (7%) were still free of lesions. One year after the onset of MB (T2), n = 2 subjects were free of lesions. The kappa coefficient value for measuring the degree of agreement between the two methods was 0.71 for all three study time points combined.Conclusion: Both the QLF and EDI methods demonstrated similar results, each presenting only a few discrepancies, which means that in order to determine the method most suitable for each individual case, the cost-benefit and time factors should be examined.