Reliability of the Assessment of Tooth Wear Severity on Dental Hard Tissues and Dental Restorations, Using the TWES 2.0, by Nonexperts

Jakob C. Roehl*, Lukasz Katzer, Holger A. Jakstat, Peter Wetselaar, M. Oliver Ahlers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Tooth wear is a multifactorial process resulting in the loss of dental hard tissues. For its assessment, the tooth wear evaluation system (TWES) 2.0 has been published. Previous studies on the TWES involved well-trained practitioners, rather than nonexperts. Objective: The first aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of the assessment of tooth wear severity on dental hard tissues, using the TWES 2.0, by nonexperts. The second aim was to investigate the reliability of assessment of wear severity on dental restorations, using a third scale. Methods: Forty-seven dental students evaluated at least 9 of 14 possible patient cases on dental casts and intraoral photographs. Cohen's kappa (agreement with sample solution) and Fleiss' kappa (Inter-rater reliability) were calculated. Results: The agreements of the operators' ratings compared to the sample-solution resulted in Cohen's kappa between 0.02 and 0.9. The agreements were 0.34 for occlusal; 0.43 for vestibular; 0.57 for oral surfaces. Inter-rater reliability (Fleiss' kappa) was 0.35 for occlusal, 0.17 for vestibular and 0.24 for oral assessment. The inter-rater reliability of the ratings on tooth surfaces with restorations was lower with 0.21 (occlusal), 0.14 (vestibular) and 0.39 (oral). The agreement on different restorations differed tremendously. Conclusions: The ability to correctly assess the cases varied considerably between individual examiners. Within the limits of this study, assessment of restorations was slightly more challenging compared to natural teeth, particularly in occlusal regions or when the restorative material is gold. Subsequent studies should address whether enhanced training and improved definition of tooth wear grades result in higher reliability scores.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)125-136
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Oral Rehabilitation
Volume52
Issue number2
Early online date27 Sept 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Oral Rehabilitation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

  • clinical assessment tools
  • DC-TW
  • diagnostic criteria
  • reliability
  • tooth wear
  • tooth wear evaluation system

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reliability of the Assessment of Tooth Wear Severity on Dental Hard Tissues and Dental Restorations, Using the TWES 2.0, by Nonexperts'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this