Assuntos
Fenda Labial/diagnóstico , Fenda Labial/terapia , Fissura Palatina/terapia , Anormalidades Craniofaciais/terapia , Anormalidades Dentárias/terapia , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Fissura Palatina/diagnóstico , Terapia Combinada , Assistência à Saúde Culturalmente Competente , Assistência Odontológica para Crianças , Medicina Baseada em Evidências , Política de Saúde , Necessidades e Demandas de Serviços de Saúde , Humanos , Lactente , Comunicação Interdisciplinar , Colaboração Intersetorial , Sociedades Odontológicas , Sociedades Médicas , Anormalidades Dentárias/diagnóstico , Estados UnidosRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To test the use of an index in school screening programmes by assessing its accuracy in determining treatment need, and its reproducibility. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: Diagnostic accuracy was measured against a gold standard, inter-examiner and intra-examiner variation was measured by comparing the results of two examiners for the same subjects. Setting A large inner city primary school in Birmingham. PARTICIPANTS: 570 primary school children. OUTCOME MEASURES: Diagnostic accuracy was measured by sensitivity and specificity values. Reproducibility was measured by using kappa scores. RESULTS: The mean sensitivity for positive screening result was 81% and mean specificity for negative screening result was 97%. The kappa score for inter-examiner variation was 0.7 with agreement on decision to refer in 91% of cases. Intra-examiner variation was 11% for both examiners. CONCLUSION: The use of the index was shown to be both accurate and reproducible and is advocated for use in school dental screening programmes.