An assessment of knowledge and practice of new advances in occlusal caries diagnosis and early caries management among dentists in Nairobi.

Objectives: To determine level of knowledge of advanced diagnostic methods for occlusal caries.
To determine level of use of advanced diagnostic methods for occlusal caries.
To establish indicators for operative intervention for early occlusal caries among dentists.
To find out the methods of treatment for early occlusal caries used by the dentists.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study whereby self administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 91 dentists engaged in clinical practice within Nairobi. These included those in public and private practice.
Results: Majority of the participants reported use of visual tactile methods in combination with either conventional (67%) or digital (40.7%) radiography for occlusal caries diagnosis. Only 49% indicated familiarity with flourescence systems available for caries diagnosis with only one respondent reporting use of such systems.
Most of the respondents (78%) indicated sticky fissures with evidence of demineralized enamel/discolouration of dentine as the main indicator for operative intervention with majority (67%) stating resin composite as the choice of material for management of these lesions.
Conclusions: Overall knowledge and utilization of advanced diagnostic methods for occlusal caries diagnosis among dentists in Nairobi was low.