The Effect of Diagnostic Criteria on the Sensitivity of Dental Epidemiological Data

1 January 1981

journal article
research article
Published by S. Karger AG in Caries Research

Vol. 15 (2) , 117-123
https://doi.org/10.1159/000260510

Abstract

The relative efficiencies of two diagnostic systems were compared. The first is based on a visual-tactile examination while the second is a completely visual assessment. Each was used by a different examiner to record the dental condition of 99 female adolescents taking part in a 3-year clinical trial of a caries prophylactic agent. Caries was diagnosed at three levels in both systems, allowing the data to be reported at three DMFS score levels. Both prevalence and incremental data are compared. The results of the study suggest that the diagnostic system chosen has an important effect on the precision of clinical trials of caries prophylactic agents.

Keywords

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:

Anti-caries effect of a 2% Na2PO3F-dentifrice in a Danish fluoride area
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On the Determination of Confidence Limits of an Index
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A STANDARDIZED SYSTEM OF RECORDING DENTAL CONDITIONS
1966