title: The Dental Aesthetic Index and dental health component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need as tools in epidemiological studies.
abstract: The present study assesses the validity and reproducibility of two occlusal indices for epidemiological studies--the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and the Dental Health Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (DHC-IOTN) for the identification of orthodontic treatment needs. The total of 131 study models was examined by an examiner (orthodontic specialist) for the determination of the DAI and DHC-IOTN. Thirty days later, further assessment was performed to determine the reproducibility. The duration of each exam was measured in seconds with a stopwatch. The indices were compared by a panel of three experts in orthodontics to evaluate validity. The intra-examiner reliability evaluation resulted in an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.89 for the DAI (95% CI = 0.64 to 1.0) and 0.87 for the DHC-IOTN (95% CI = 0.56 to 0.96). The time spent on the evaluation of the DHC-IOTN was less than the time spent on that of the DAI (P < 0.001). The accuracy of the indices, as reflected by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, was 61% for the DAI (95% CI = 51 to 70; p = 0.037) and 67% for the DHC-IOTN (95% CI = 58 to 77; p = 0.001). Both indices presented good reproducibility and validity.
authors: Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627-ZIP code 31270.901 sala 3304, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. chrys@nwnet.com.br
authors: Chrystiane F
authors: CF
authors: Cardoso
authors: Alexandre F
authors: AF
authors: Drummond
authors: Elisabeth M B
authors: EM
authors: Lages
authors: Henrique
authors: H
authors: Pretti
authors: Efigênia F
authors: EF
authors: Ferreira
authors: Mauro Henrique N G
authors: MH
authors: Abreu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D004955:Esthetics, Dental / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D061326:Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015588:Observer Variation; D009909:Oral Health / Q000145:classification*; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric