Inter- and intra-examiner variability in scoring supragingival plaque: I. The clinical study.
Twenty-four normal healthy patients were scored for plaque by four examiners with different professional backgrounds and different levels of training. Each patient was examined twice by each examiner according to a predetermined random assignment with the assumption of no change in state. All four examiners scored higher on the second examination and there was no apparent consistent relationship between professional background and level of training in the plaque scoring.
D003756:Dental Hygienists; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003815:Dentists; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D012107:Research Design; D013194:Staining and Labeling