Tehran University of Medical Sciences Frontiers in Dentistry 2676-296X 14 1 2017 02 15 21 30 EN Mahdieh Dehghani Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran Rasool Barzegari Dentist, Yazd, Iran Hosein Tabatabai Associate Professor, Department of Oral Pathology, Social Determinants of Oral Health Research Center, School of Dentistry, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran Sahar Ghanea Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran 2015 11 05 2017 01 02 Objectives: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of conventional and digital radiography for detection of cavitated and non-cavitated proximal caries. Materials and Methods: Fifty extracted human premolars and molars were mounted in a silicone block. Charge-coupled device (CCD) and photostimulable phosphor plate (PSP) receptors and intra-oral films were exposed with 60 and 70 kVp with parallel technique. Two observers interpreted the radiographs twice with a two-week interval using a 5-point scale. Teeth were then serially sectioned in mesiodistal direction and evaluated under a stereomicroscope (gold standard). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were calculated. Results: Sensitivity of all three receptors for detection of enamel lesions was low (5.5-44.4%) but it was higher for dentin lesions (42.8-62.8%); PSP with 70 kVp and 0.03s exposure time had the highest sensitivity for enamel lesions, but the difference among receptors was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Sensitivity of all three receptors for detection of non-cavitated lesions was lower than that for cavitated lesions; PSP with 60 kVp and 0.07s exposure time had higher sensitivity and lower patient radiation dose for detection of cavitated and non-cavitated lesions, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). Conclusions: Digital radiography using PSP receptor with 70 kVp is recommended to detect initial enamel caries. For detection of non-cavitated and cavitated dentin caries, PSP with 60 kVp is more appropriate. Change in kVp did not affect the diagnostic accuracy for detection of caries, and type of receptor was a more important factor.   https://fid.tums.ac.ir/index.php/fid/article/view/838 https://fid.tums.ac.ir/index.php/fid/article/download/838/932