Cutoff fluorescence loss for the recovery of incipient carious lesions after fluoride application in primary teeth: A clinical study

Abstract

Purpose: Early detection and diagnosis of incipient caries are the keys to achieving a favorable prognosis. Monitoring of pathological changes based on clinical evidence leads to an accurate prognosis. Therefore, this clinical study investigated changes in minerals of incipient carious lesions using quantitative light-induced fluorescence-digital (QLF-D) after applying professional fluoride treatment to children, with improvement of the lesion severity assessed based on the fluorescence loss (Delta F) value obtained using QLF-D. Methods: This study examined 90 incipient enamel lesions on the primary teeth of 27 children aged between 4 and 10 years. QLF-D images were obtained before and after the application of 1.23% acidulated phosphate fluoride gel for 1 min, and the Delta F values at 0 and 4 weeks (Delta F-(0) and Delta F-(4), respectively) and the recovery rates (R-Delta F) of the lesions were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to calculate the cutoff Delta F-(0) value at which recovery of the lesion with fluoride treatment remained feasible. Results and conclusion: The recovery patterns of Delta F 4 weeks after fluoride application differed depending on the Delta F-(0) values. The incipient lesions with Delta F((0) )values of less than -13.00 recovered 4 weeks after fluoride application (P < 0.001) and had an average R-Delta F value of 19.27%. The results indicate that a Delta F-(0) cutoff value can be determined for predicting the effects of remineralization after fluoride application and quantitative prognostic data can be provided to patients.