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A method of utilizing the subjects' initial caries experience to increase efficiency in caries clinical trials
Author(s) -
Kingman Albert
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1979.tb01191.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dentistry , clinical trial
A problem which often occurs in caries clinical trials is the existence of an imbalance by group in the initial DMFS scores among subjects completing the study. Four methods of incorporating the study subjects' initial caries experience were identified and compared in six recently conducted clinical trials to see which of the methods was the most efficient in making treatment group comparisons of study subjects' caries increment scores. The consistent method of choice was one which utilized an adaptation of G rainger 's caries severity index as a stratification factor in a blocking analysis of caries increments. The results suggest that more information regarding future caries exists in knowing where decay is present in the dentition than in knowing the subjects' total DMFS counts.