Ozone Treatment of Occlusal Caries in Primary Teeth: Immediate Effects and Correlation of Diagnostic Methods

Ozone (O3) has been clinically proven to reverse fissure caries and root caries. It is now being further investigated as a pharmaceutical treatment for occlusal caries in permanent and primary teeth. Objectives: To correlate both DIAGNOdent and Electrical Caries Monitor (ECM) standard scale readings with a clinical classification of occlusal caries in primary molars, and to study the immediate effect of ozone application on both readings. Methods: 50 non-cavitated carious lesions in 17 patients were recruited. All teeth were cleaned by an air-abrasive system, Prophyflex 2® (KaVo, Germany). The DIAGNOdent ® (D)(KaVo, Germany), ECM (LODE BV, Netherlands) standard scale readings and clinical classification (Ekstrand, 1998) were then recorded. Subsequently, after randomisation, half of the lesions were treated with Ozone using a silicone-sealed cup via a hand piece (HealOzone unit, CurOzone USA) for 10 seconds each, whereas, the other half was reserved as a control group. The readings were repeated after Ozone application. Results: Using a paired samples T-test; ECM readings were not altered immediately by the Ozone treatment (p>0.05). However, the DIAGNOdent readings were significantly reduced after Ozone treatment (t = 2.408, p< 0.05). Moreover, ECM and DIAGNOdent readings were significantly correlated with the clinical classification (p< 0.05, p< 0.01 respectively). Conclusions: The significant correlation between the clinical classification and both the ECM and DIAGNOdent readings, proves the reliability of the clinical classification used in this study. As expected, ECM readings were not changed since remineralisation is unlikely to occur immediately; while DIAGNOdent readings were reduced