The development of a method for functional assessment of dentures.
OBJECTIVE
To design and validate a method of assessing complete dentures from a functional standpoint.


METHODS
A random sample of 40 complete denture wearers took part in the study.


METHODS
A university clinical department of prosthetic dentistry.


METHODS
We undertook a pilot study to refine the protocol and criteria. All participants and their dentures were examined by two authors independently, with no prior knowledge of the patients' complaints.


METHODS
We defined nine clinical factors of functional quality and applied criteria with binary scoring. We analysed the scores for these factors for inter-rater reliability.


RESULTS
The method proved simple to apply and took less than 5 minutes to complete. The inter-examiner agreement for all factors was 86% to 100% giving Kappa scores of 0.64 to 1.00 (all Good or Very Good).


CONCLUSIONS
This study successfully demonstrates that the technique, which we call the Functional Assessment of Dentures (FAD), can give good inter-examiner reliability. It can therefore be used separately as a routine diagnostic tool and to investigate the relationship between denture qualities and functional 'outcome' such as difficulty eating or dietary selection.
Corrigan
P J
PJ
Wakefield Community Dental Service, Wakefield West PCT, UK.
Basker
R M
RM
Farrin
A J
AJ
Mulley
G P
GP
Heath
M R
MR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D003781:Denture Retention; D003824:Denture, Complete; D003826:Denture, Complete, Lower; D003827:Denture, Complete, Upper; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology; D014716:Vertical Dimension