The ethics of in vivo calibrations in oral health surveys

Reliability analysis using the in-lux examination method for dental indices in adolescents for use in epidemiological studies

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the in-lux examination method to assess the reliability of examiners for oral health surveys.

METHODS

A calibration study involving 10 examiners and 27 patients was conducted, and high-quality photographs of dental epidemiological indices were projected. The latter refers to the in-lux examination method. Two groups, comprised of five examiners each, were trained to assess dental caries (DMFT index) and malocclusion (DAI). The first group carried out in vivo (clinical) and in-lux examinations in the same patients. The second group performed in-lux examinations only. The measurements were repeated to obtain intraexaminer weighted kappa coefficients.

RESULTS

Interexaminer weighted kappa coefficients of the in vivo examination method for DMFT and DAI ranged from 0.597 to 0.851 and from 0.574 to 0.844, respectively. The values for in-lux examination were between 0.440 and 0.856 (DMFT) and between 0.524 and 0.783 (DAI). The intraexaminer kappa coefficients of the in vivo examination method ranged between 0.569 and 0.851 (DMFT) and between 0.644 and 0.834 (DAI). In the in-lux method, these values were between 0.426 and 0.831 (DMFT) and between 0.341 and 0.838 (DAI). Three examiners did not reach the minimum acceptable kappa value (k = 0.610) for DMFT, and one for DAI. Of these, one examiner managed to reach the minimum kappa coefficient for DMFT after additional training. The three others maintained the kappa coefficients at lower than acceptable limits.

CONCLUSIONS

Calibration, using both in vivo and in-lux examination methods, was able to discriminate the examiners regarding their reliability to reproduce dental indices. The in-lux examination method was considered reliable and can replace the in vivo examination method. The in-lux method might be more feasible to evaluate the reliability of examiners when clinical calibration is unrealistic due to logistic issues and when a large number of examiners are involved in the survey.

Oral health of 12-year-old children in Quito, Ecuador: a population-based epidemiological survey

BACKGROUND

There is a paucity of population-based surveys on oral health conditions in Ecuador. Thus, the aim of this study was to conduct an epidemiological survey with a representative sample of children aged 12 years from public schools of Quito, Ecuador. The aim of this initial report was to describe the methodology used in the survey, as well to present results regarding calibration procedures and prevalence of oral-health related outcomes.

METHODS

We invited 33 public schools' coordinators from the urban area of Quito, and 1100 children (12 years old) to take part in this study. Six trained and calibrated examiners conducted clinical examinations using oral mirrors and ball-ended probes to assess: dental caries, traumatic dental injuries, malocclusion, gingival bleeding, presence of calculus and fluorosis. Children also responded a questionnaire on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). Individual sociodemographic data was collected through a questionnaire sent to parents. Moreover, some contextual data on school environment (infrastructure conditions, promotion of health practices and negative episodes) were also evaluated. Prevalence values, crude and weighted by sampling weights, and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated.

RESULTS

Nine hundred and ninety-eight children from 31 schools were examined from March to May 2017. The adjusted prevalence values (95%CI) for the six outcomes evaluated were: dental caries = 60.3% (55.3 to 65.0%); traumatic dental injuries = 20.7% (17.2 to 24.8%); dental fluorosis = 63.7% (58.5 to 68.5%); gingival bleeding = 92.0% (87.1 to 95.2%); presence of calculus = 69.9 (60.5 to 77.9%); and malocclusion = 25.8% (21.8 to 30.3%). Adjusted mean of number of decayed, missed or filled permanent teeth (DMF-T) was 1.61 (1.37 to 1.84). Results on OHRQoL and other contextual variables will be reported in other articles.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of the majority of oral health problems in 12-year-old children from public schools in Quito-Ecuador was compatible with those observed in other similar cities. However, periodontal health and fluorosis seem to be highly prevalent in children from Quito.