Further statistics in dentistryPart 5: Diagnostic tests for oral conditions

Abstract

A diagnostic test is a simple test, sometimes based on a clinical measurement, which is used when the gold-standard test providing a definitive diagnosis of a given condition is too expensive, invasive or time-consuming to perform. The diagnostic test can be used to diagnose a dental condition in an individual patient or as a screening device in a population of apparently healthy individuals.

An oral health and function screening tool for nursing personnel of long‐term care facilities to identify the need for dentist referral without preliminary training

“…To correctly differentiate between individuals with and without disease, a screening test should have high sensitivity and specificity . With values higher than 0.8 for all categories, the OHSTNP had a high specificity when used by nurses and caregivers, which shows that nursing personnel were able to appropriately identify residents without alterations in oral health and function, even in the absence of initial training in the use of the OHSTNP.…”

“…As compared with the unguided determinations of nursing personnel, if decisions for this item had instead been based on any of the three criteria for dentist referral, estimates for sensitivity, accuracy and kappa would increase, but specificity would decrease (Tables and ). An ideal test has high sensitivity and high specificity, but because these are inversely related, in practice one is frequently sacrificed to increase the other . For a treatable disease, it is important to identify as many persons with the disease as possible, so that they can be further assessed with the final goal of curing the disease.…”

“…For a treatable disease, it is important to identify as many persons with the disease as possible, so that they can be further assessed with the final goal of curing the disease. Thus, a test with a high sensitivity is chosen . In addition, individuals are often first examined with a test with high sensitivity/low specificity and then undergo assessment with a confirmatory test with high specificity, to rule out false‐positive individuals .…”

“…Thus, a test with a high sensitivity is chosen . In addition, individuals are often first examined with a test with high sensitivity/low specificity and then undergo assessment with a confirmatory test with high specificity, to rule out false‐positive individuals . The present tool screens for diseases and conditions that are mostly treatable.…”

Periodontal research: Basics and beyond - Part II (ethical issues, sampling, outcome measures and bias)

“…The choice of observational unit is a crucial player in periodontal research and there is a general confusion prevailing regarding the same. [12] This is primarily because the data obtained in periodontal research usually have variables measured at site level (pocket depth, furcation), tooth level (mobility) and subject level (systemic health, smoking status). In clinical trials, usually the subject or the mouth is selected as an observational unit.…”