A method for scoring denture plaque

Many studies have reported on the comparative efficiency of denture cleaning materials in their ability to remove deposits from dentures, but because of the variety of scoring methods used it is often difficult to make direct comparisons between materials. It is important that any measurements obtained should not only be accurate, reliable and reproducible but that inter-examiner error should be kept to a minimum. In this work three operators were asked to score 'blind' the total amount of disclosed plaque on a whole denture using a 0-10 scale. The overall conclusions of this test was that of poor inter-examiner agreement. A second test was therefore undertaken at a later date using the same three operators and protocol but on this occasion each surface of the denture was evaluated by reference to a series of standard reference dentures painted to simulate plaque scores in the 0-10 range. This test showed there to be no significant difference in the plaque scores recorded by the three operators and that the plaque scores recorded on the polished surfaces were significantly lower than those on the teeth and fitting surfaces (F = 10.55, P < 0.001).