COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIGITAL THERMOMETRY AND INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY FOR TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT IN A PRIVATE DENTAL SERVICE – PILOT STUDY

Resumo

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the temperatures measured
through conventional digital thermometry and infrared thermography
comparatively, in a group of patients from a private dental health service. Materials
and methods: A convenience retrospective sample of 25 female patients, were
submitted to temperature recordings using thermograms of the brain thermal tunnel
(BTT) and frontal region, and digital thermometry in the frontal region. The data
obtained from the two anatomical sites evaluated were statistically analyzed to
create a temperature dispersion graph. Results: It was observed that the mean
temperature measured with the digital thermometry was 36.3ºC with a standard
deviation of ±0.60, and was the one that presented the highest value in relation to
Infrared Thermography, as well as less variation of average individual
temperatures(p<0.05). Final considerations: Digital thermometry showed low
specificity, while Infrared Thermography proved to be a tool with greater
sensitivity for measuring body temperature, especially in the BTT region.