Correction of self-assessment of dental conditions

A correction matrix for self-assessed data on dental conditions was developed. 100 subjects, who were randomly selected among 2383 respondents to a questionnaire, were clinically examined. The dental conditions, determined clinically and through self-assessment, were recoded to seven dental categories, and the agreement between the two methods of reporting were investigated. For persons with prosthodontic work and/or edentulous persons the self-assessment was valid, whereas people with remaining teeth overreported their dental conditions through self-assessment. The overreporting did not depend on gender, but was dependent on age, which again was related to dental status. The overreporting was most marked for persons having one to two single teeth or several single teeth missing and not replaced.