title: Reporting of dental status from full-arch radiographs: Descriptive analysis and methodological aspects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify standards, how entities of dental status are assessed and reported from full-arch radiographs of adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A PubMed (Medline) search was performed in November 2011. Literature had to report at least one out of four defined entities using radiographs: number of teeth or implants; caries, fillings or restorations; root-canal fillings and apical health; alveolar bone level. Cohorts included to the study had to be of adult age. Methods of radiographic assessment were noted and checked for the later mode of report in text, tables or diagrams. For comparability, the encountered mode of report was operationalized to a logical expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-seven out of 199 articles were evaluated via full-text review. Only one article reported all four entities. Eight articles reported at the maximum 3 comparable entities. However, comparability is impeded because of the usage of absolute or relative frequency, mean or median values as well as grouping. Furthermore the methods of assessment were different or not described sufficiently. Consequently, established sum scores turned out to be highly questionable, too. The amount of missing data within all studies remained unclear. It is even so remissed to mention supernumerary and aplased teeth as well as the count of third molars.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data about dental findings from radiographs is, if at all possible, only comparable with serious limitations. A standardization of both, assessing and reporting entities of dental status from radiographs is missing and has to be established within a report guideline.
authors.affiliation: Fabian Huettig, Detlef Axmann, Department of Prosthodontics with Section "Medical Materials and Technology" at the Centre of Dentistry, Oral Medicine, Maxillofacial Surgery of Eberhard-Karls-University Hospital, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Huettig
authors.affiliation: Fabian Huettig, Detlef Axmann, Department of Prosthodontics with Section "Medical Materials and Technology" at the Centre of Dentistry, Oral Medicine, Maxillofacial Surgery of Eberhard-Karls-University Hospital, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Axmann
keywords: Dental radiography; EQUATOR; Epidemiology; Guideline; Public health; Research design