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Multicenter Study
. 2016 Jun;66(3):178-89.
doi: 10.1111/idj.12220. Epub 2016 Feb 8.

Oral health screening: feasibility and reliability of the oral health assessment tool as used by speech pathologists

Ingeborg S Simpelaere  1   2   3 , Gwen Van Nuffelen  4 , Jan Vanderwegen  5 , Kristien Wouters  6   7 , Marc De Bodt  4   8
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Oral health screening: feasibility and reliability of the oral health assessment tool as used by speech pathologists

Ingeborg S Simpelaere et al. Int Dent J. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and reliability of the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) as used by speech pathologists, to become part of a comprehensive clinical swallowing examination.

Methods: A multicentre study in 132 elderly subjects was conducted by speech pathologists. The inter-rater, test-retest and intra-rater reliabilities of the OHAT were assessed in R statistics, version 3.0.1. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used for the total OHAT, and Kappa statistics were used for the individual categories.

Results: Total OHAT scores showed good inter-rater (ICC = 0.96), intra-rater (ICC ≥ 0.95) and test-retest (ICC ≥ 0.78) agreement. The inter-rater Kappa statistics were almost perfect (κ ≥ 0.83) for seven of the eight individual categories of the OHAT and perfect for 'dental pain' (κ = 1.00). The test-retest Kappa statistics indicated excellent agreement for 'natural teeth' and 'dentures' (κ ≥ 0.86). The intra-rater per cent agreement was excellent for all categories except 'gums and tissues'.

Conclusions: This is the first study to examine the feasibility and reliability of the OHAT as used by speech pathologists. As the results showed both good feasibility and reliability, the OHAT has the potential to add to the clinical swallowing examination. However, future research investigating actual referral strategies and adaptation of care strategies following assessment with OHAT is needed.

Keywords: Dental care; elderly; feasibility; oral health screening; reliability.

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Figures

Appendix II
Appendix II
Flow chart to define the different steps of the study.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Frequency distribution of the total OHAT scores.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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