Correlação entre cor, consistência e fatores associados na determinação da atividade de lesões cariosas cavitadas em dentes decíduos

Abstract

The diagnosis of caries presents itself as an extremely complex process, which can generate many questions, because it involves the interpretation of a set of characteristics from the clinical signs and symptoms and additional tests. One of the diagnostic methods used in cavitated carious lesions in dentin is the visual­tactile examination. The objective ofthis study was to verify the correlation between the clinical criteria color and consistency of carious tissues in determining caries activity, and the influence of associated factors: brushing, fruit intake, pain and location in the arcade. Two calibrated examiners effected clinical examination of 104 cavities in dentin of deciduous teeth of children at the Clinic of Pediatric Dentistry of UFSM. The color and consistency of dentin was evaluated using standard scales and classified according to the criteria of Björndal, Thylstrup and Larsen (1997). The results showed that there was correlation between color and consistency in determining the activity of caries lesions, however when relate to factors associated tooth group, intake of fruits, pain and frequency of brushing, only the last statistically significant positive correlation with consistency. It was concluded that the criteria color and consistency correlation in determining the activity of carious lesions and those of harder consistency are correlated with higher frequency ofbrushing.