Kimon Divaris|William F. Vann|A. Diane Baker|Jessica Y. Lee
Examining the accuracy of caregivers' assessments of young children's oral health status
backgroundcaregivers perceptions young childrens oral health status ohs strong determinant whether children visit dentist aims quantify correlation caregivers assessments childrens clinically determined restorative treatment needs investigating factors related associationmethodsone hundred eight caregivers assessed childrens ohs answering question selfreported national health nutrition examination survey iii instrument children underwent clinical oral examinations one two study sites carolina oral health literacy project dental schoolbased clinic communitybased health clinic examiners recorded childrens clinical treatment needs using modification caries severity index authors quantified concordance two measures use spearman rank correlation kendall rank correlation whereas assessed differences sociodemographic factors oral health literacy ohl levels using homogeneity 2 test p 2 criterionresultsthe concordance caregivers assessments clinically determined ohs lower younger children 2 years 029 versus 2 years 063 homogeneity p 03 pattern evident community clinic university clinic caregivers age education ohl influence accuracy selfreportsconclusionsfor children younger 2 years caregivers assessments correlated poorly clinical needs routinely underestimatedpractice implicationsthese findings underscore importance preventive dental visits young age early establishment dental home