ORAL-DISEASE, IMPAIRMENT, AND ILLNESS - CONGRUENCE BETWEEN CLINICAL AND QUESTIONNAIRE FINDINGS

In 1992 a questionnaire was sent to 50-year-olds in two Swedish counti es. These self-report data were compared with clinical observations wi th regard to number of teeth, removable dentures, caries, and periodon titis. Complete information from both data sources was obtained for 10 41 persons. The relevant questionnaire item explained 71% of the missi ng tooth variance. An agreement of 0.91 (Cohen's kappa) was obtained f or removable dentures. A question about problems in opening the mouth differentiated clearly with regard to measured mouth opening ability. Toothache and tooth sensitivity were reported with 95% probability whe n having 22 decayed teeth and with 46% when there were no decayed teet h (58% correctly predicted). Two teeth with pockets greater than or eq ual to 6 mm gave 5% probability and 22 such teeth gave 39% probability of reporting migration of front teeth. The main conclusion from this study is that there is good correspondence between subjective self-rep orts and clinical findings, especially for those conditions that are r elatively easy for the patient to observe, such as the number of teeth and the presence of dentures. Thus questionnaire data can be used for information and screening about some well-defined oral conditions.