Root coverage esthetic score after treatment of gingival recession: an interrater agreement multicenter study.
BACKGROUND
The root coverage esthetic score (RES) system was proposed for evaluating esthetic outcomes of root coverage procedures. The aim of this multicenter study is to assess the interrater agreement of the RES among expert periodontists.


METHODS
Eleven periodontists were selected in different clinical centers. Each operator had ≥15 years of experience in mucogingival surgery. Each periodontist was trained to use RES before the beginning of the study. Subsequently, baseline and post-treatment (6 months) photographs of 41 Class I and II gingival recessions in 41 patients were separately given to each operator who evaluated the outcomes according to the RES method. A two-way random interclass correlation coefficient and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to assess the global interrater agreement for RESs.


RESULTS
The total interrater agreement for RESs was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.88 to 0.95), which indicated that an almost perfect agreement was achieved.


CONCLUSIONS
Tested individually by a group of periodontists, the RES seems to be a reliable method for assessing the esthetic outcomes of root coverage procedures.
Cairo
Francesco
F
Department of Periodontology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. cairofrancesco@virgilio.it
Nieri
Michele
M
Cattabriga
Marcello
M
Cortellini
Pierpaolo
P
De Paoli
Sergio
S
De Sanctis
Massimo
M
Fonzar
Alberto
A
Francetti
Luca
L
Merli
Mauro
M
Rasperini
Giulio
G
Silvestri
Maurizio
M
Trombelli
Leonardo
L
Zucchelli
Giovanni
G
Pini-Prato
Giovan Paolo
GP
D000328:Adult; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000637:transplantation; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005881:Gingiva / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010517:Periodontics / Q000592:standards; D023861:Photography, Dental; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult