Comparison of dental information obtained from self-examination and clinical examination.

The validity of self-examination information regarding the number and distribution of remaining teeth, the presence of dentures and the validity of molar support construed professionally from the self-examination data was assessed from 93 persons. This was done by comparing self-examination information with data from clinical and radiographical examinations. Agreement between self-examination and clinical examination was found to be fairly good regarding the number of remaining teeth and the presence of removable dentures. Regarding the distribution of remaining teeth there was an average of 2.1 misdiagnosed teeth per person. In conclusion, self-examination method makes possible the collection of accurate data for screening and planning purposes in assessing oral health status regarding the number of remaining teeth and presence of removable dentures.