Evaluating the caries excavation effect and minimally invasive potential of three caries excavation methods using micro-CT

Objective To evaluate the caries excavation efficacy and minimally invasive potential of three dentine caries excavation methods including traditional excavation, chemomechanical excavation, and fluorescence-aided caries excavation using micro-computerized tomography (micro-CT). Methods This study was approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, and all patients provided informed consent. Thirty molars and premolars with dentin caries were collected and randomly divided into three groups. The samples were obtained by traditional excavation (traditional excavation group), chemomechanical excavation (chemomechanical excavation group), and fluorescence-aided caries excavation (fluorescence-aided caries excavation group), and the operation time for each sample was recorded. Micro-CT was used to scan and record the caries volume and healthy tooth volume of each tooth before and after caries excavation. The caries excavation efficacy and minimally invasive potential of the three caries excavation methods were evaluated based on the caries volume and the healthy tooth volume before and after caries excavation. Results In terms of caries excavation operation time, the chemomechanical excavation group (501.7 s &#x00B1; 143.6 s) had a longer operation time than the traditional excavation group (263.9 s &#x00B1; 121.2 s) and the fluorescence-aided caries excavation group (284.2 s &#x00B1; 135.6 s), with a statistically significant difference (<i>P</i>&lt;0.01); there was no significant difference between the traditional excavation group and the fluorescence-aided caries excavation group. In terms of caries excavation efficacy, the ratio of residual caries volume to initial caries volume was determined in the traditional excavation group (0.087 &#x00B1; 0.04), followed by the fluorescence-aided caries excavation group (0.36 &#x00B1; 0.10), and the chemomechanical excavation group was the highest (0.51 &#x00B1; 0.10); the observed disparity between the groups exhibited statistical significance (<i>P</i>&lt;0.01). In terms of minimally invasive potential, the ratio of the traditional excavation group (0.87 &#x00B1; 0.05) was lower than the chemomechanical excavation group (0.99 &#x00B1; 0.01) and fluorescence-aided caries excavation group (0.98 &#x00B1; 0.01), with statistically significant differences (<i>P</i>&lt;0.01); the difference between the ratio of the chemomechanical excavation group and the fluorescence-aided caries excavation group was not statistically significant. Conclusion The traditional excavation group had the shortest operation time, but the traditional excavation removed too much healthy dentin and demineralized dentin. The chemomechanical excavation group retained demineralized dentin and healthy dentin and had the best minimally invasive potential, but the caries excavation efficacy was poor and the operation time was long. The fluorescence-aided caries excavation preserved part of the demineralized dentin and healthy dentin, had certain minimally invasive potential, and the clinical operation time was moderate.