Creating Digital Dental Plaque Scoring

A Novel Approach to Digital Dental Plaque Scoring

It is aimed to compare dental plaque area measured on images obtained in the clinic by using dental photography and intraoral scanner and to evaluate the correlation of this area with clinical plaque scores.

Clinical dental plaque scoring was measured according to the "Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index" after applying a plaque staining agent (Tri Plaque ID Gel, GC Corp., Tokyo, Japan) to evaluate the oral hygiene of 20 patients who applied to the university clinic. Following clinical scoring, intraoral photographs of the patients were taken using dental photography equipment of the same standards (EOS700D, Canon; 100mm lens, Canon; twin flash, Yong Nuo) and scan images were taken with an intraoral scanner (iTero Element Flex, Align Tech., USA). In the data obtained, dental plaque area on the buccal surface of 66 lower and upper jaw anterior teeth were measured with Image J (National Institute for Health, Bethesda, USA) software, and the ratio of dental plaque area to the visible surface area of the tooth was measured.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dental Plaque
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Dental plaque scoring and dental plaque coated tooth surface measuring

Detailed Description

The (h1) hypothesis of this study was that dental plaque scores measured through digital camera and intraoral scanner images can replace clinical visual scoring. This study aimed to compare dental plaque areas measured on images taken by digital camera and intraoral scanner and to evaluate these areas with clinical plaque scores with the help of a software program and provide a novel plaque index to score dental plaque on the taken intraoral images.

Study Design The tooth arches of the volunteers were stained with a plaque-disclosing solution (Tri Plaque ID Gel, GC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). The Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index (TMQHPI) of anterior teeth of the volunteers' was recorded using clinical visual examination.

Intraoral photographs of the volunteers were taken by using a digital camera (Canon EOS 700D; 100 mm macrolens, Canon Inc., Tokyo, Japan), and 3D images were recorded by an intraoral scanner (iTero Element Flex, Align Technologies, San Jose, California, USA). Photograph and intraoral scanner images were overlapped and pixel-synchronized using the Keynote program.

After synchronization, all taken images were transferred to the Image J V1.53 (National Institute for Health, Bethesda, USA) program. The plaque-covered area and the total surface area of the teeth were marked in the manual mode of the program and the areas were measured in square pixels. Measurements were made on a total of 66 teeth, which can be easily seen on the images. Intraoral scanner plaque area/ tooth surface area ratio and intraoral photograph plaque area/ tooth surface area ratio were calculated and recorded for each tooth.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 66

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Maltepe
    • Istanbul, Maltepe, Turkey, 34854
      • Marmara University, Department of Restorative Dentistry

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study included 20 patients between the age of 18 to 45. Among the patients with orthodontic brackets, severe tooth crowding that could not be visually verified on images, fixed or implant restorations were excluded in the study. Measurements were made on a total of 66 teeth, which can be easily seen on the images.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients without orthodontic brackets, fixed or implant restorations and without severe tooth crowding were included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Among the patients with orthodontic brackets, severe tooth crowding that could not be visually verified on images, fixed or implant restorations were excluded in the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

3

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Clinical scoring; The Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index of anterior teeth of the volunteers' was recorded using clinical visual examination after dental plaque staining.	Diagnostic test: Dental plaque scoring and dental plaque coated tooth surface measuring; The Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index of anterior teeth of the volunteers' was recorded using clinical visual examination. Intraoral photographs of the volunteers were taken by using a digital camera and 3D images were recorded by an intraoral scanner. The plaque-covered area and the total surface area of the teeth were marked in the manual mode of the Image J program and the areas were measured in square pixels. The correlation between clinical visual scoring, dental plaque areas on images were compared.
Digital Camera; Intraoral photographs of the volunteers were taken by using a digital camera (Canon EOS 700D; 100 mm macrolens, Canon Inc., Tokyo, Japan). All taken photographs were transferred to the Image J V1.53 (National Institute for Health, Bethesda, USA) program. The plaque-covered area and the total surface area of the teeth were marked in the manual mode of the program.	Diagnostic test: Dental plaque scoring and dental plaque coated tooth surface measuring; The Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index of anterior teeth of the volunteers' was recorded using clinical visual examination. Intraoral photographs of the volunteers were taken by using a digital camera and 3D images were recorded by an intraoral scanner. The plaque-covered area and the total surface area of the teeth were marked in the manual mode of the Image J program and the areas were measured in square pixels. The correlation between clinical visual scoring, dental plaque areas on images were compared.
Intraoral Scanner; 3D images of the volunteers were recorded by an intraoral scanner (iTero Element Flex, Align Technologies, San Jose, California, USA). All taken images were transferred to the Image J V1.53 (National Institute for Health, Bethesda, USA) program. The plaque-covered area and the total surface area of the teeth were marked in the manual mode of the program.	Diagnostic test: Dental plaque scoring and dental plaque coated tooth surface measuring; The Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index of anterior teeth of the volunteers' was recorded using clinical visual examination. Intraoral photographs of the volunteers were taken by using a digital camera and 3D images were recorded by an intraoral scanner. The plaque-covered area and the total surface area of the teeth were marked in the manual mode of the Image J program and the areas were measured in square pixels. The correlation between clinical visual scoring, dental plaque areas on images were compared.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Correlation between Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Scores and dental plaque coated surface areas on the images taken by digital camera and intraoral scanner	The Turesky Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index (TMQHPI) of anterior teeth of the volunteers' was recorded using clinical visual examination.Intraoral photographs of the volunteers were taken by using a digital camera and 3D images were recorded by an intraoral scanner.The plaque-covered area and the total surface area of the teeth were marked in the manual mode of the Image J program and the areas were measured.	1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Marmara University
• Investigators: Study Director: Dilek Tagtekin, Professor, Marmara University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 29, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): April 5, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 30, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): June 5, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 5, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 30, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: dental plaque; dental plaque scoring; dental plaque imaging
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Stomatognathic Diseases; Tooth Diseases; Dental Deposits; Dental Plaque
• Other Study ID Numbers: Digital Scoring

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No