Introduction: Epidemiological indices are frequently used for oral health research, they are used to quantify and compare the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases. They allow to know the clinical stage of the disease in each individual which facilitates the comparison between populations. Objective: To analyze the literature on the advantages and disadvantages of caries evaluation systems such as the decayed, missing and filled teeth index (DMFT), the International Caries Detection and Assessment System index (ICDAS ll) and the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST) from the pediatric dentistry point of view.

Methodology: Systematic review of the literature on the clinical detection of caries and among the research criteria for measuring dental caries with application in pediatric dentistry with the DMFT, ICDAS ll and CAST measurement systems.

Results: Based on the literature it was found that the DMFT, despite being the quickest method to apply, had the disadvantage of underestimating the occurrence of lesions. ICDAS ll, on the other hand, records detailed information on caries severity through a time-consuming measurement. CAST allows information on disease distribution, lesion severity, and preventive/therapeutic needs to be obtained at a similar time rate as DMFT.

Conclusions: The measurement systems for clinical caries detection (DMFT, ICDAS ll and CAST) have a strong correlation on the results of each other, suggesting that the overall caries status can be inferred on the basis of these systems, with CAST being a better evaluation system in the area of pediatric dentistry.