Organization for Caries Research-European Federation of Conservative Dentistry Consensus Report on Clinical Recommendations for Caries Diagnosis Paper II: Caries Lesion Activity and Progression Assessment

Klaus W Neuhaus (1, 2, 3) , Jan Kühnisch (4) , Avijit Banerjee (5) , Stefania Martignon (6) , David Ricketts (7) , Falk Schwendicke (4, 8) , Monique H van der Veen (9, 10) , Sophie Doméjean (11, 12) , Margherita Fontana (13) , Adrian Lussi (2, 14) , Anahita Jablonski-Momeni (15) , Fausto Medeiros Mendes (16) , Gail Douglas (17) , Gottfried Schmalz (18, 2) , Guglielmo Campus (2, 19) , Johan Aps (20) , Keith Horner (21) , Niek Opdam (22) , Marie-Charlotte Huysmans (22) , Christian H Splieth (23)

1 Unibas - Université de Bâle = University of Basel = Basel Universität
2 UNIBE - Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne
3 Inselspital - Bern University Hospital [Berne]
4 LMU - Ludwig Maximilian University [Munich] = Ludwig Maximilians Universität München
5 King‘s College London
6 Universidad El Bosque [Bogota]
7 University of Dundee
8 Charité - UniversitätsMedizin = Berlin University Medicine
9 UvA - University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] = Universiteit van Amsterdam
10 Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
11 CROC - Centre de Recherche en Odontologie Clinique
12 Service Odontologie [CHU Clermont-Ferrand]
13 University of Michigan [Ann Arbor]
14 Leopold Franzens Universität Innsbruck - University of Innsbruck
15 Philipps Universität Marburg = Philipps University of Marburg
16 USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo
17 University of Leeds
18 University Hospital Regensburg
19 UNISS - Università degli Studi di Sassari = University of Sassari [Sassari]
20 OpiniDent BV
21 University of Manchester [Manchester]
22 Radboud University Medical Center [Nijmegen]
23 Universität Greifswald - University of Greifswald

Introduction: This consensus paper provides recommendations for oral health professionals on why and how to assess caries activity and progression with special respect to the site of a lesion. Methods: An expert panel was nominated by the executive councils of the European Organization for Caries Research (ORCA) and the European Federation of Conservative Dentistry (EFCD). The steering committee built three working groups that were asked to provide recommendations on (1) caries detection and diagnostic methods, (2) caries activity and progression assessment, and (3) obtain individualized caries diagnoses. The experts of work group 2 phrased and agreed on provisional general and specific recommendations on caries lesion activity and progression, based on a review of the current literature. These recommendations were then discussed and refined in a consensus workshop followed by an anonymous Delphi survey to determine the agreement on each recommendation. Results: The expert panel agreed on general (n = 7) and specific recommendations (n = 6). The specific recommendations cover coronal caries on pits and fissures, smooth surfaces, proximal surfaces, as well as root caries and secondary caries/caries adjacent to restorations and sealants. 3/13 recommendations yielded perfect agreement. Conclusion: The most suitable method for lesion activity assessment is the visual-tactile method. No single clinical characteristic is indicative of lesion activity; instead, lesion activity assessment is based on assessing and weighing several clinical signs. The recall intervals for visual and radiographic examination need to be adjusted to the presence of active caries lesions and recent caries progression rates. Modifications should be based on individual patient characteristics.

Mots clés: Diagnosis; Caries; Activity; Progression; Consensus

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Klaus W Neuhaus, Jan Kühnisch, Avijit Banerjee, Stefania Martignon, David Ricketts, et al.. Organization for Caries Research-European Federation of Conservative Dentistry Consensus Report on Clinical Recommendations for Caries Diagnosis Paper II: Caries Lesion Activity and Progression Assessment. Caries Research, 2024, 58 (5), pp.511-520. ⟨10.1159/000538619⟩. ⟨hal-04742195⟩