Modified IOTN: an orthodontic treatment need index for use in oral health surveys.
This paper reports the results of a study of the reliability of a modified version of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) for use in oral health surveys. Twelve non-specialist dental examiners were trained in the use of the Modified IOTN using a standardised teaching protocol lasting approximately 1.5 hours. Following a school-based calibration exercise it was found that nearly all the examiners achieved either good or excellent agreement (mean Kappa=0.74). The average sensitivity and specificity scores were 0.90 and 0.84, respectively. The Modified IOTN appears to overcome the training and reliability problems that often accompany the use of orthodontic indices by non-specialists in oral health surveys.
Burden
D J
DJ
Orthodontic Division, School of Dentistry, The Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. d.burden@qub.ac.uk
Pine
C M
CM
Burnside
G
G
D002648:Child; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000193:education; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015588:Observer Variation; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D006113:United Kingdom