AGREEMENT BETWEEN THREE CARIES RISK ASSESSMENT METHODS

PURPOSE. To evaluate the agreement between the CAMBRA, Cariogram, and ADA caries risk assessment methods in real adult subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Adult patients were examined at a private dental practice and filled in a questionnaire investigating health self-perception and dietary habits. An objective check-up, including saliva flow rate and buffering capacity (PH) tests, was performed. According to the patients’ characteristics, they were classified as at high, moderate or low risk of caries using the CAMBRA, Cariogram, and ADA caries risk estimation methods. The Kappa statistic was used to verify the degree of agreement between the three methods. The difference in risk assessment between the methods was evaluated using the Bhapkar test. RESULTS. Thirty-one patients were included. The CAMBRA, Cariogram, and ADA methods estimated 24, 17 and four patients at high risk of caries, respectively. The Kappa statistic was 0.19 (95% confidence interval 0.01 to 0.37), indicating poor agreement between the three protocols. In fact, complete agreement was found among the three methods in only three cases (10%, 95%CI: 2; 26). The difference between risks estimated via the three methods was statistically significant (P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS. There was very low agreement among the three examined methods of estimating the risk of caries in patients.