Possibilities of microcomputer tomography in the diagnostics of early forms of caries of a chewing surface of permanent molars in children. Part II

Relevance. The problems of pathogenesis and early diagnosis of dental caries in children continue to be among the most pressing in modern dentistry. Of particular scientific and practical interest is the study of the relationship of early clinical manifestations of fissure caries in children during the period of eruption with the degree of enamel demineralization. Aim. To evaluate the capabilities of the microcomputer tomography method to improve the diagnosis of early forms of caries of the chewing surface of permanent molars in children. Materials and methods. With the use of the high-resolution microtomograph "Skyscan 1176", 83 molars of 8-11 years old children were removed according to orthodontic indications. Of the total number of teeth, research groups are formed - teeth with no signs of demineralization, and teeth with carious lesions in the stage of white, light brown, brown, black spots. On the reconstructed 2D and 3D images, zones were identified in the outer (0.05-0.5 mm), middle (0.75-1.25 mm) and inner (1.5-2.0 mm) thirds of the thickness of the enamel layer, followed by calculating averaged radiographic density indices in the CTvox program. Results. The tomograms of the teeth of the studied groups in order of decreasing optical density parameters revealed the following sequence: healthy enamel - caries in the white spot stage - caries in the light brown spot - caries in the brown spot stage - caries in the black spot. Conclusions. The unification of the microcomputer tomography method with reproducibility of the obtained measurements and interpretation of the existing results in the universal general medical DICOM format makes it possible to apply the obtained calculated values in working with a conical-beam computer tomograph, to reduce the time costs at the stage of early diagnosis of the pathology of hard tissues of teeth with carious and non-carious etiology, also evaluate the effectiveness of the remineralizing therapy in view of the available baseline data.

детское население, микрокомпьютерная томография, минеральная оптическая плотность, фиссурный кариес, леминерализания эмали, children population, microcomputer tomography, mineral optical density, fissure caries, enamel demineralization