COMPARING EFFECTIVENESS OF INTRAORAL SCANNER IN CARIES DETECTION

Abstract

This study investigates the diagnostic performance of the TRIOS 5 intraoral scanner in detecting dental caries compared to traditional methods such as visual-tactile examination and radiographic imaging. With 21 adult participants, the study used a comparative diagnostic accuracy design to evaluate the scanner’s sensitivity, specificity, and agreement with the gold-standard radiographic findings. Results showed that while the TRIOS 5 demonstrated high sensitivity (89.4%) and a strong negative predictive value (87.0%), its specificity was low (26.4%), indicating a high rate of false positives. Cohen’s Kappa analysis revealed poor agreement between scanner and radiograph findings (κ = 0.100), and McNemar’s test confirmed statistically significant discrepancies (p = 4.648). These findings suggest that although the TRIOS 5 is effective in early caries detection, its diagnostic output should be interpreted alongside conventional methods to avoid overtreatment. The study highlights the scanner’s potential as an adjunct diagnostic tool and calls for further research on AI-driven enhancements and standardized calibration protocols to improve clinical accuracy and reliability.