Compiled by Pete Folly

Edited by Andrea Ferreira Zandona and Christopher Longbottom

2019; Springer

243 pages

eISBN 9783030169671

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A Clinical Guide to Dental Caries Detection and Assessment has been put together by two editors experienced in caries detection and assessment and who have worked for years to link best evidence to best clinical practice. The editors express their aims for this book as ‘[to] give the reader additional confidence to manage dental caries in the early stages with non-surgical approaches by using more precise and objective methods of assessment'.

Through clearly-written text and clinical images, the book explains how to optimise clinical conditions for detection of the earliest visible signs of dental caries and how best to assess caries activity as a basis for management. The available evidence from the literature on detection criteria and methods is summarised and placed in a clinical context to inform clinical practice. The authors provide guidance on removal of the dental biofilm and the potential impact of various factors on the performance of different caries detection devices. The histological changes that occur during the caries process and their effect on the clinical appearance of caries lesions are explained. In addition, several caries classification systems based on visual detection criteria and designed to allow staging are presented. Consideration is also given to currently marketed detection aids, including methods involving light fluorescence, transillumination, and radiography. In each case, a summary of the detection performance, based on available supporting evidence, is tabulated together with advice on appropriate clinical application.