1. Digital enhancement of radiographs: can it improve caries diagnosis?
- Author
-
Shrout, Michael K., Russell, Carl M., Potter, Brad J., Powell, Billy J., and Hildebolt, Charles F.
- Subjects
Dental caries -- Diagnosis ,Radiography, Medical -- Digital techniques ,Health - Abstract
Computer-aided enhancements of dental X-rays may prove helpful to dentists in determining the extent of cavity damage but at the present time may be impractical. Two general dentists and one X-ray specialist evaluated 18 surfaces of 12 extracted teeth for cavity damage first by traditional X-ray and then by a choice of computer-aided enhancements. Researchers compared these evaluations with microscopic tests done on these teeth that determined the precise depth of tooth damage. The X-ray specialist more closely identified the exact extent of tooth damage than did the general dentists, particularly when using the computer-aided technique. The general dentists accurately identified tooth damage between 12 to 16 times out of 18 times when using either technique. Identifying an appropriate combination of computer enhancements for each evaluation proved to be time-consuming.
- Published
- 1996