Population-based health surveys are increasingly including self-reported oral health measures. However, their validity is frequently questioned. This study aimed to review the diagnostic validity of self-reported oral health measures - regarding periodontal conditions, number of remaining teeth and use and need of prostheses - and to present prototypes of oral health items to assess periodontal conditions. Papers published between 1991 and 2011 were identified through PubMed database. The sample profile, the sample size and the methods used in each study were analyzed, as well as the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the oral health items. Periodontists were contacted, using a standardized text, sent by e-mail, which asked them to provide self-reported items regarding periodontal conditions. We reviewed 19 studies; 13 assessed periodontal conditions; five, the number of remaining teeth and four, the use and need of prosthesis - some studies evaluated two or more conditions simultaneously. Five of the eight periodontists suggested questions to assess periodontal conditions. The maximum and the minimum sensitivity values to assess periodontal conditions, number of remaining teeth and use and need of prosthesis were 100 and 2%; 91 and 21%; 100 and 100%; respectively; the maximum and the minimum specificity values were 100 and 18%; 97 and 96%; 93 and 93%; respectively. In conclusion, there are acceptable sensitivity and specificity values for number of remaining teeth and use and need of prosthesis only. Finally, we consider there is the need for further studies in the national context, in order to assess the impact of the questions about self-reported oral health conditions in epidemiological analyses. Therefore, it will be possible to empirically verify if self-reported questions can be used in such studies.

The aim of present study was to estimate the occurrence and associated factors for replacement of amalgam posterior restorations. A representative sample of all 5,914 births from the 1982 in Pelotas birth cohort study was prospectively investigated, and the posterior restorations were assessed at 24 (n = 720) and 31 years of age (n = 539). Individual-level variables, i.e., demographic characteristics, socioeconomic factors, oral health conditions and use of dental services, were collected from different waves of the cohort. Toothlevel variables included dental group, estimated time in mouth of each amalgam restoration, and number of restored dental surfaces. Thus, 246 individuals presented 718 amalgam restorations at 24 years of age. After 7 seven years of follow-up, 18.9% of these restorations had been replaced with composite resins. Multilevel Poisson regression models showed that, compared to white individuals, blacks presented a lower risk of replacement of amalgam restorations for composite resins (IRR-0.39 [0.16-0.95]). Individuals with high educational level at age 31 showed an increased likelihood of replacement of amalgam restorations. Therefore, skin color affects the replacement of amalgam for composite resin in posterior restorations.

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