Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Measuring dog dental plaque with light-induced fluorescence
By Wallis, Corrin et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary dentistry·2016·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Quantification of Canine Dental Plaque Using Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs had their dental plaque measured using a new method called Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence (QLF) to see how well it worked compared to a traditional method. The QLF method was found to be reliable and showed good agreement with the older method, especially when comparing plaque levels after dogs were given an oral care chew. This new technique could help veterinarians assess dental health more easily and accurately. Overall, QLF could be a promising tool for monitoring plaque in dogs.
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Abstract
The aim of this work was to evaluate Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence (QLF) as an alternative to the established Logan and Boyce method for determining plaque coverage of dogs' teeth. In a series of studies in conscious and anesthetized dogs, QLF showed good intra-photographer repeatability (coefficient of variation [CV] of 7.5% for undisclosed teeth) and inter-photographer reproducibility (CV of 3.2% for undisclosed teeth and 8.5% for disclosed teeth). The QLF software accurately identifies areas of plaque as demonstrated by comparison to the variability of 5 human scorers, manually marking plaque on QLF-acquired images (P = 0.1). There was good agreement with the modified Logan and Boyce method in the percentage reduction in plaque accumulation measured when dogs were fed an oral care chew versus no chew. To see a 15% difference in plaque accumulation, which is considered sufficient by the Veterinary Oral Health Council to differentiate between 2 treatments, a retrospective power analysis (90%) of the data established that only 7 dogs would be required, compared to 19 dogs for the modified Logan and Boyce method. QLF is a reliable method for measuring dental plaque in dogs with the added advantage that it is not subjective and requires fewer animals.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27487653/