title: Validation of self-reported periodontal measures among health professionals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to determine the validity of self-reported periodontal measures among nondentist health professionals. Valid self-reported measures could provide a time- and cost-efficient alternative for large epidemiologic studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A subsample of 212 male nondentists sampled on the basis of their reported periodontal severity from the Health Professional Follow-up Study (HPFS) provided dental radiographs and completed questionnaires assessing self-reported oral health. Alveolar bone loss was evaluated from the radiographs at 32 posterior sites and used as the standard measure of cumulative periodontal disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The self-reported ordinal periodontal measure had a linear relationship with mean radiographic bone loss (r = .61). The positive and negative predictive values of the dichotomized self-reported periodontal measures were 83 percent and 69 percent. Self-reported history of periodontal surgery was also a good surrogate for bone loss (predictive value positive 78 percent and negative 71 percent).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reports can provide discrimination and ranking information of cumulative periodontal disease among health professionals and can be used to provide valid results in etiologic studies in health professionals' populations.
authors: Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. kaumudi_joshipura@hms.harvard.edu
authors: Kaumudi J
authors: KJ
authors: Joshipura
authors: Waranuch
authors: W
authors: Pitiphat
authors: Chester W
authors: CW
authors: Douglass
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D011859:Radiography; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires