| Study | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|
| Baltacioglu 2017 | Data not available to produce a 2 x 2 table at the enamel caries threshold |
| Bin‐Shuwaish 2008 | Participant sample included patients requiring restoration |
| Blazejewska 2016 | Reference standard was visual with ICDAS but without tooth separation ‐ this is not acceptable as any lesions cannot be directly viewed, so excluded |
| Chesters 2002 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Choksi 1994 | No reference standard |
| Cortes 2000 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Cortes 2003 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| da Silva 2011 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results |
| Elhennawy 2018 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Gomez 2013 | Included teeth with ICDAS 4, therefore dentine caries |
| Grossman 2002 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Hintze 1998 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Holtzman 2014 | Sample included ICDAS 4 and we could not extract a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Holtzman 2015 | Sample included ICDAS 4 and we could not extract a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Ibusuki 2015 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Kuhnisch 2016 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Lara‐Capi 2017 | No suitable reference standard |
| Lederer 2019 | Inappropriate sample ‐ selected teeth with dentinal caries (ICDAS 4 and 5) |
| Lee 2009 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Lee 2010 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Lee 2010a | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Manton 2007 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Marianska 2015 | Inappropriate sample ‐ selected teeth with dentinal caries which were due restorations |
| Marinova‐Takorova 2014 | Not a DTA study. No sound teeth included |
| Matsuura 2018 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Mialhe 2009 | Same study as Mialhe 2003 but sound surfaces removed from the results |
| Mitropoulos 1985 | Diagnostic threshold applied at the dentine level only |
| Mitropoulos 1985a | Diagnostic threshold applied at the dentine level only, so a 2 x 2 table at enamel threshold impossible to obtain |
| Ozkan 2017 | No sound teeth included in sample |
| Purdell‐Lewis 1974 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Salsone 2012 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Sasazawa 2015 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Schaefer 2018 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold due to reporting in study results of sealant, restorations and not assessable categories |
| Schneiderman 1997 | Sample included teeth with frank cavitation |
| Simon 2014 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Simon 2018 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold, reported lesion depth in mm |
| Sochtig 2014 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Staninec 2010 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Staninec 2011 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Stephen 1987 | Appropriate sample, index test, and reference standard but data not available at the enamel threshold, table 3 presented sound versus codes 3/4 which is caries in dentine or pulp or both |
| Tetschke 2018 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Verdonschot 1991 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table since prevalence from histology was not reported |
| Verdonschot 1992 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Waly 1995 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Wenzel 1992 | Sample included dentinal lesions |
| Wilder‐Smith 2013 | Abstract only, cannot create a 2 x 2 table at the enamel threshold |
| Yu 2017 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
| Zakian 2009 | Not possible to complete a 2 x 2 table of results at the enamel threshold |
DTA = diagnostic test accuracy; ICDAS = International Caries Detection and Assessment System.