Oral Health Indices and Scoring Methods

• Indices and scoring methods are used to determine and record the oral health status of individuals and groups in clinical practice and community programs.

Individual Assessment Score

• Used in clinical practice to measure the amount or condition of oral disease.
• It can also be used for purposes of evaluation, education or motivation of individuals or a population.
• An index is based on a graduated scale with defined upper and lower limits.
• Used for data collection and comparisons of individuals or population groups using established criteria.
• Frequently used in clinical trials.

Uses of Individual Assessment Score

• To provide individual assessment to help a patient recognize an oral problem.
• To reveal the degree of effectiveness of oral hygiene practices.
• To motivate the patient during preventive and professional care to eliminate and control oral disease.
• To evaluate the success of individual oral self-care, professional treatment, and status of oral disease over a period of time by comparing index scores.

Clinical Trial

• Planned to determine the effect of an agent or a procedure on the prevention, progression, or control of a disease.
• Conducted by comparing an experimental group with a control group that is similar to the experimental group in every way except for the variable being studied.
• Examiners who collect dental index data for research are calibrated or trained to measure the index in exactly the same way each time.
• Biofilm index (BI) and patient hygiene performance (PHP) are examples of indices used for clinical trials.

Uses for Clinical Trials

• To determine baseline data before experimental factors are introduced.
• To measure the effectiveness of specific agents for the prevention, control, or treatment of oral conditions.
• To measure the effectiveness of mechanical devices for personal care, such as toothbrushes, interdental cleaning devices, or irrigators.

Epidemiologic Survey

• Epidemiology denotes the study of disease characteristics of populations rather than individuals.
• Epidemiologic surveys provide information on the trends and patterns of oral health and disease in populations.

Uses for Epidemiologic Survey

• To determine the prevalence and incidence of a particular condition occurring within a given population.
• To provide baseline data on indicators that show existing dental health status in populations.
• The Surgeon General’s Report(s) on Oral Health in America used epidemiologic data to identify oral health disparities in certain populations.
• To provide data to support recommendations for public health interventions to improve the health status of populations, such as those provided in the U.S. Healthy People 2030 document.

Community Surveillance

• Community oral health assessment is a multifaceted process of identifying factors that affect the oral health status of a selected population.
• Community surveillance of oral health indicators and determinants can be accomplished at many levels.
• Government agencies, local community-based service-providing agencies, and professional associations are examples of groups that collect data to determine oral health status by conducting oral health screenings.
• Information from community-wide oral screenings can be used when planning local community-based oral health services or education.
• An example of a system designed to be used by a community-based group is the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors’ (ASTDD) Basic Screening Survey.

Uses for Community Surveillance

• To assess the needs of a community.
• To help plan community-based health promotion/disease prevention programs.
• To compare the effects or evaluate the results of community-based programs.