Methods: A total of 121 children (50 girls; 71 boys) 8-17 years of age with two white spot lesions began the study in a private pediatric dental practice following IRB approval. The subjects were told to use a provided fluoride dentifrice (Crest) twice daily (unsupervised) throughout the entire length of the study. White spots were examined visually for evidence of lesion activity for two phase intervals using the ICDAS procedure and using light fluorescence assessments made by two different instruments: QLF-Inspektor™Pro (QLF) and FluoreCam® (FC). Phase 1 = baseline, 3, & 6 month exams; Phase 2 = baseline (beginning at 6), 12, 18, & 24 months. Subjects began receiving fluoride varnish applications (Vanish; 3M ESPE) at their 6-month visit, and at all subsequent study visits. Subjects will be seen for one additional visit when 30-month data will be collected.
Results: ICDAS data revealed that the likelihood of having a lower activity score at a later visit was significantly higher than at baseline. This is interpreted as remineralization. Mean fluorescence measurements at 0, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months were 11.51, 11.45, 10.53, 9.79, 9.47, and 8.50 for FC and 12.48, 12.00, 10.72, 10.45, 9.54, and 8.87 for QLF. Similar to ICDAS, both instruments detected remineralization during both phases of the study. The amount of remineralization observed during phase 1 was statistically significant for QLF, and for phase 2 was statistically significant for both QLF and FC.
Conclusions: These preliminary data from an ongoing clinical study suggest that clinical ICDAS lesion activity assessments and measurements from both fluorescence instruments are able to significantly monitor changes in white spot lesions.
Keywords: Caries, Clinical trials, Fluoride, Remineralization and Technology
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