The effect of Turkish dental practitioners’ perceptions and experience of ICDAS II on caries treatment decisions

Background: The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) was developed to integrate several criteria systems into one standard system for caries detection and assessment. The aim of this study was to identify Turkish dental practitioners’ perceptions and experience about ICDAS II and assess how they could affect clinical decision-making. Methods: A web-based data collection form, including demographic characteristics, experience of caries detection systems, and two different clinical images with caries and treatment options, was given to Turkish dental practitioners. Data were analyzed with the chi-square test and logistic regression using SPSS 22.0 software (IBM, Chicago, IL) at a significance level of P<0.05. Results: Data collection forms were completed by 382 general dental practitioners. For the first clinical scenario 70.7% of the practitioners decided that no treatment was required. For the second clinical scenario 89.5% of the practitioners decided to perform tooth restoration. Considering the clinical scenario 2 treatment options, while practitioners working in the public hospital marked amalgam restoration at a higher rate, practitioners working in private clinics marked composite resin restoration and root canal treatment at a higher rate (P<0.05). With regard to effects on treatment choices for clinical scenarios, binary logistic regression analysis found no significant effects of gender, age, or institution (P>0.05). Conclusion: The visual caries detection system, ICDAS II, was a useful tool in standardizing caries diagnostic skills for practitioners and improving decision-making abilities on caries treatment.