The reproducibility of the Denplan Oral Health Score (OHS) in general dental practitioners.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the reproducibility of the Denplan Oral Health Score (OHS) and to examine whether general dental practitioners are more reproducible at measuring oral health when they use the OHS than when they use their usual method of examining patients.


METHODS
This was a single centre study designed to compare dentists' reproducibility using the Oral Health Score with their reproducibility when using the method of examination that they normally employ in general practice.


METHODS
The study was carried out at The University of Birmingham School of Dentistry during 2001.


METHODS
Ten local general dental practitioners were recruited by advertising. The patients were selected from various clinics in the University of Birmingham School of Dentistry to provide a broad spectrum of oral health.


METHODS
The dentists scored oral health by two methods; firstly on a 10 cm linear scale after using their everyday method of examination and secondly using the structured format of the OHS examination, where the Oral Health Scores were expressed as a percentage.


RESULTS
Overall, the majority of the participating dentists demonstrated better intra-examiner reproducibility with the OHS than with their own method of examination. There was also higher inter-examiner reproducibility with the OHS than with the dentists' own method.
Delargy
S
S
Primary Dental Care Research Group, The University of Birmingham School of Dentistry, St Chad's Queensway, Birmingham B4 6NN, UK.
Busby
M
M
McHugh
S
S
Matthews
R
R
Burke
F J T
FJ
D005792:General Practice, Dental; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000145:classification*; D015588:Observer Variation; D009909:Oral Health; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000145:classification*