Objectives: To compare the accuracy in detection of interproximal natural carious lesions in vitro between Ultraspeed (D), Ektaspeed Plus (E), and Insight (F) radiographic films.
Study design: Ten observers indicated on a 5-point scale their confidence in detecting an interproximal lesion in 240 surfaces (120 extracted teeth) with noncavitated carious lesions. Truth was assessed microscopically from hemisections. The areas (Az) beneath receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were pairwise compared and used for a 2-way analysis of variance.
Results: Az values were significantly correlated with observers (P=.002; Eta=0.671) and film type (P=.003; Eta=0.412). E differed significantly (mean Az: 0.624) from both D (mean Az: 0.591; P=.028) and F (mean Az: 0.594; P=.037), although the 95% confidence intervals clearly overlapped.
Conclusion: The superior performance of Ektaspeed failed to prove clinical relevance.