Evaluation of a calibration trial to increase interexaminer reliability of radiographic diagnosis of approximal carious lesions

Abstract

Eighteen dentists working in the same School Dental Service participated in a calibration trial with the purpose of reducing interexaminer disagreement on radiographic diagnosis of approximal caries. The calibration program was in two stages: firstly, discussion in small groups and, secondly, the use of a reference standard. The effect of the training programs on interexaminer disagreement was limited, but a statistically significant decrease in the number of D-surfaces recorded per child was observed. The finding that the major part of the error variance was due to random error, rather than systematic error, may explain why the calibration program was unsuccessful at reducing error.