(PO09) Analysis of Cracked Teeth using Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence (QLF) Technology and Micro-CT Evaluation

Abstract: This study evaluated the efficacy of quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) technology in diagnosing cracked teeth. One hundred fifty-five teeth diagnosed as cracked teeth were included to assess the diagnostic effectiveness of QLF technology. The QLF images of the teeth with crack lines were taken with Qraypen C (Aiobio, Seoul, Korea) and analyzed using CrazelineWizard (Inspektor Research Systems B.V., The Netherlands). Four parameters were measured according to the severity of lesions based on QLF: fluorescence loss (ΔF), maximum fluorescence loss (ΔFmax), red fluorescence (ΔR), and maximum red fluorescence (ΔRmax). Twelve extracted human molars were stained with proto-porphyrin IX solution. The same QLF parameters were measured on the crack lines, and micro-CT was taken to measure the depth of these cracks. The independent two-sample t-test, ANOVA, and Bonferroni post-hoc tests were performed to detect the correlation between the parameters and the patients' and teeth's details. The relationship between QLF parameters and the width and depth of cracks on micro-CT were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (SAS version 9.4, SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). From the clinical study, ΔFmax was positively associated with the severity of bite and cold tests (p < .05). All the cracks on the extracted teeth detected by micro-CT showed detectable QLF parameters. However, there was no significant relevance between the depth of cracks shown on micro-CT and the QLF parameters. Based on the study's results, QLF technology is a valuable diagnostic device for diagnosing cracked teeth.