Reliability of coding depth of approximal carious lesions from non-independent interpretation of serial bitewing radiographs

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Abstract
To help understand the effectiveness of preventive care and the source of variation in treatment decisions, it is important to determine intraexaminer and interexaminer agreement on the presence and depth of radiolucencies on bitewing radiographs when serial radiographs on individuals are available for interpretation. Serial radiographs on 24 [human] subjects were read in succession, and 1 of 4 depth codes was assigned to approximal lesions. The radiographs were then read a 2nd time, both by the person who had initially read the radiographs and by a 2nd reader. Intraexaminer agreement on presence of a lesion ranged from 60% to 90%; 4 of the 5 readers had an agreement of > 78%. Interexaminer agreement on presence of a lesion ranged from 71% to 84%. Intraexaminer agreement on depth of lesion ranged from 64 to 80%; 4 readers had an agreement of > 73%. Interexaminer agreement on depth of lesion ranged from 59 to 76%.