title: Use of dental radiographic minipanel series in disabled adults in a university-based special care dental clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the diagnostic efficacy of a minipanel series to a conventional 18-radiograph full-mouth series in a disabled adult population in a university clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty patients who attended the New Jersey Dental School special care services clinic between 2004 and 2006 were selected for a double-blind quasiexperimental study based on existing full-mouth series radiographs. A minipanel series consisting of eight radiographs from the 18-radiograph full-mouth series was used as a comparison against a matched pair of an 18-radiograph exam. The diagnostic efficacy of this eight-radiograph series was tested against the more conventional 18-radiograph full-mouth series to determine whether the minipanel series was an acceptable substitute for the full-mouth series in this population group. Traditionally, it is difficult to obtain full-mouth series radiographs in patients with disabilities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the 80 studied patients, a total of 2,219 teeth were available for study. A median of 29 teeth per patient was found in the full-mouth series and 28 teeth per patient in the minipanel series category. The difference was statistically significant (P < .001). Of the patients evaluated, 78 (97.5%) had at least one problem detected when the full-mouth series was used. Of these 78 with at least one problem, 74 (94.8%) were identified using the minipanel series. The sensitivity for the minipanel series when compared to the gold-standard full-mouth series was 63% (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.2 to 68.0) for tooth-specific disease; the specificity was 92% (95% CI, 92.2 to 94.5).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prospective studies are needed for the acceptance and use of minipanel radiographic series in conjunction with a clinical examination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Sciences, UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School, Newark, NJ, USA. stricklamaxine@aol.com
authors.forename: Maxine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.forename: Rufus L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Caine
authors.forename: Rufus L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Canin
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mahevich
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Duda
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spivack
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spicvack
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Muralidhar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mupparapu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002547:Cerebral Palsy; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003740:Dental Clinics; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003804:Dentin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010483:Periapical Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010513:Periodontal Ligament / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011861:Radiography, Dental / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012575:Schools, Dental; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult