The development of criteria for the assessment of complete dentures

Criteria for the assessment of complete dentures have been published by several groups of workers but none have proved universally reliable. The present study was undertaken in an attempt to develop criteria of proven reliability for the assessment of the occlusion, articulation, retention, stability and appearance of complete dentures and the health of their supporting tissues. The criteria formulated were subjected to a series of evaluations of their reliability followed by attempts at refinement where this was unsatisfactory. Although levels of agreement between independent assessments made using the criteria improved as the study progressed, an acceptable level of reliability was not attained. The possible reasons for this are discussed.