Digital enhancements fails to improve radiographic detection of dental calculus: Study
Digital enhancements are not tied with radiographic detection of dental calculus, according to a study published in the Journal of Periodontology.
The aim of this study was to determine if image enhancement improves a clinician's ability to identify the presence of calculus on digital radiographs.
Seventy-one hopeless teeth were collected from 34 patients. Teeth were stained with 1% methylene blue, the largest interproximal calculus deposit was scored, and photographs of each interproximal root surface were taken. The surface area of the calculus deposit was determined as a percentage of the total interproximal root surface area. Digital radiographs of teeth taken before extraction were modified using the following enhancements: auto-contrast, emboss, invert, and sharpen. The radiographic presence of calculus was determined by two examiners. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each examiner and enhancement. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare differences between the image enhancements in the detection of dental calculus. The kappa statistic was used to compare ratings between examiners.
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