Detection and Assessment of Dental Caries

This book explains how to optimize clinical conditions for detection of the earliest visible signs of dental caries and how best to assess caries activity as a basis for effective management.  The available evidence from the literature on detection criteria and methods is distilled and placed in a clinical context to facilitate implementation in clinical practice. Guidance is offered 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. The reader will find the text to be clearly written and informative, with many supporting clinical images.

Dr. Andrea Ferreira Zandona is a tenured Professor and Chair of the Comprehensive Care Department at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Zandoná is originally from Curitiba, Brazil where she received her dental degree from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná.  Dr. Zandona earned her master's degree in Dental Sciences in Operative Dentistry and a PhD in Dental Sciences from Indiana University. She was a faculty member at Indiana University from 1998 until 2013, directing their graduate residency program in Preventive Dentistry. From 2013 to 2018 she was a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, Department of Operative Dentistry. Dr. Zandoná has received research grants as principal investigator from the National Institutes of Health, CDC, the Delta Dental Fund, and private industry. She has published and lectured nationally and internationally on prevention and management of dental caries serving on editorial boards and as reviewer for numerous scientific and dental journals. Dr. Zandona has been part of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System Foundation Committee. She has served on the European Organization of Caries Research advisory board and is currently Vice-President of the CAMBRA coalition. She is a member of the American Association of Dental Research, the International Association of Dental Research, the American Dental Education Association, the Academy of Operative Dentistry and the American Academy of Cariology. She is the author of 45 peer-reviewed journal articles and several book chapters.

Christopher Longbottom is a Research Fellow and Assistant Director of the Dental Innovation and Translation Centre in the Dental Institute, King’s College London, UK. He holds a BDS and PhD from the University of Dundee, the latter for a thesis on “The Clinical Diagnosis of Dental Caries – An initial evaluation of novel techniques” (1992). In 2000 he was accredited as a Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry by the UK General Dental Council. In addition to gaining extensive teaching experience, over the past 25 years Dr. Longbottom has built up a broad, internationally recognized portfolio of research ranging from community studies of interdisciplinary interventions in primary care to innovations in individual-level clinical dental practice and curiosity-driven basic science discoveries. He is a named inventor on 19 filed or granted patents. Dr. Longbottom is a member of ORCA (European Organisation for Caries Research) and IADR (International Association for Dental Research). He is the author of 45 peer-reviewed journal articles and a number of book chapters.