Evaluation of resin infiltration using quantitative light-induced fluorescence technology

Objectives: To determine whether quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) technology can be used to classify the colour of teeth specimens before and after resin infiltration (RI) treatment, and calculate the correlation between the Delta F value and colour difference (Delta E) in fluorescence images of the specimens obtained using a QLF-digital (QLF-D) device. Methods: Sixty sound bovine permanent teeth specimens were immersed in demineralized solution. Two exposed windows were formed in each specimen, and RI treatment was applied to one of them. The SE values were obtained for the differences between a sound tooth surface (SS), an early dental caries surface (ECS) and an ECS treated with RI (RS) in white-light and fluorescence images obtained using QLF-D, respectively. The Delta F value was obtained from fluorescence images using dedicated software for QLF-D. The mean differences between the Delta E values obtained from the white-light and fluorescence images were analyzed by paired t-test. Pearson correlation analysis and Bland-Altman plots were applied to the differences between the Delta F value for ECS (Delta FSS-SCS) and the Delta E value between SS and ECS (Delta ESS-SCS), and between the Delta F value for RS (Delta FSS-RS) and the Delta E value between SS and RS (Delta ESS-RS) in fluorescence images. Results: The Delta E values obtained from fluorescence images were three times higher than the Delta E values obtained from white-light images (p < 0.001). Significant correlations were confirmed between Delta ESS-ECS and Delta FSS-ECS (r = -0.492, p < 0.001) and between Delta ESS-RS and Delta FSS-RS (r = -0.661, p < 0.001). Conclusion: QLF technology can be used to confirm the presence of RI in teeth. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.