ADVANCES IN DENTAL CARIES DETECTION: CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic oral diseases worldwide, affecting populations of all ages and posing significant socioeconomic and healthcare challenges. Early detection of carious lesions is critical for implementing preventive strategies and minimally invasive treatment approaches, thereby preserving tooth structure and improving oral health outcomes. Traditional diagnostic methods, including visual-tactile examination and radiography, are limited in their sensitivity for early enamel lesions and are influenced by examiner subjectivity. Over the past decade, significant advancements in diagnostic technologies have emerged, including laser and quantitative light induced fluorescence, fiber optic and near infrared transillumination, optical coherence tomography (OCT), electrical conductance and impedance methods, photothermal radiometry, salivary biomarker analysis, and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted detection. OCT allows high-resolution imaging of subsurface enamel and dentin lesions, while salivary biomarkers provide a non-invasive assessment of caries risk and biological activity. AI integration improves diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility while reducing operator dependency. Despite these advancements, barriers such as high costs, lack of standardized protocols, limited clinical adoption, and ethical considerations remain. This narrative review provides a detailed analysis of current and emerging technologiesfor dental caries detection, critically evaluates their diagnostic performance, and explores future directions emphasizing multimodal and personalized approaches.