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Diagnosis versus detection of caries.

B B Nyvad

Caries Res 38(3):192-8 (2004) PMID 15153688

Caries diagnosis is the art or act of identifying a disease from its signs and symptoms. This is distinct from the detection of the signs and symptoms themselves. The diagnosis forms the basis for making informed treatment decisions. Hence, if there is no diagnostic step expressed in terms of the probability of present and future occurrence of disease, practitioners may resort to treatments guided by previous experiences with similar clinical manifestations. This paper reviews various methodological aspects of caries diagnostic testing. It is concluded that rather than continuing to search for the truth of the diagnosis, it may be more informative to consider the consequences of the diagnosis. This view is supported by results from caries-preventive trials in which the activity of carious lesions has been monitored longitudinally over years.

DOI: 10.1159/000077754
Version: za2963e q8za7 q8zb2 q8zcb q8zde q8ze8 q8zf4 q8zgb

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