Abstract
BackgroundSystematic characterization of the dental consequences of methamphetamine (MA) abuse presupposes a rigorous quality assurance (QA) program to ensure the credibility of the data collected and the scientific integrity and validity of the clinical study. In this report we describe and evaluate the performance of a quality assurance program implemented in a large cross-sectional study of the dental consequences of MA use.MethodsA large community sample of MA users was recruited over a 30 month period during 2011–13 and received comprehensive oral examinations and psychosocial assessments by site examiners based at two large community health centers in Los Angeles. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) protocols for oral health assessments were utilized to characterize dental disease. Using NHANES oral health quality assurance guidelines, examiner reliability statistics such as Cohen’s Kappa coefficients and inter-class correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the magnitude of agreement between the site examiners and a reference examiner to ensure conformance and comparability with NHANES practices.ResultsApproximately 9 % (n = 49) of the enrolled 574 MA users received a repeat dental caries and periodontal examination conducted by the reference examiner. There was high concordance between the reference examiner and the site examiners for identification of untreated dental disease (Kappa statistic values: 0.57–0.75, percent agreement 83–88 %). For identification of untreated caries on at least 5 surfaces of anterior teeth, the Kappas ranged from 0.77 to 0.87, and percent agreement from 94 to 97 %. The intra-class coefficients (ICCs) ranged from 0.87 to 89 for attachment loss across all periodontal sites assessed and the ICCs ranged from 0.79 to 0.81 for pocket depth. For overall gingival recession, the ICCs ranged from 0.88 to 0.91. When Kappa was calculated based on the CDC/AAP case definitions for severe periodontitis, inter-examiner reliability for site examiners was low (Kappa 0.27–0.67).ConclusionOverall, the quality assurance program confirmed the procedural adherence of the quality of the data collected on the distribution of dental caries and periodontal disease in MA-users. Examiner concordance was higher for dental caries but lower for specific periodontal assessments.
Highlights
Systematic characterization of the dental consequences of methamphetamine (MA) abuse presupposes a rigorous quality assurance (QA) program to ensure the credibility of the data collected and the scientific integrity and validity of the clinical study
When Kappa was calculated based on the CDC/AAP case definitions for moderate and severe periodontitis, inter-examiner reliability was higher at site B compared to site A
Overall, quality assurance findings from this study investigating the distribution of dental caries and periodontal disease in MA-using individuals indicate that substantial agreement existed with the reference examiner and the site examiners for dental caries
Summary
Systematic characterization of the dental consequences of methamphetamine (MA) abuse presupposes a rigorous quality assurance (QA) program to ensure the credibility of the data collected and the scientific integrity and validity of the clinical study. In this report we describe and evaluate the performance of a quality assurance program implemented in a large cross-sectional study of the dental consequences of MA use. Building on our precursory findings, we conducted a follow-up, cross-sectional study comprising a new cohort of MA users from the community and involving detailed dental examinations by trained dentists following protocols aimed at achieving well-calibrated assessments. This paper provides an overview of the QA program used for our cross-sectional study of the dental consequences of MA use, with particular attention to quality-control procedures. A main objective of the paper is to assess the performance of the QA program by examining the inter-rater reliability or agreement between the field dental examiners and the reference examiners for individual data elements
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