Developing guidance for analysis and reporting of oral epidemiological studies to inform burden estimation

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Given the prominent role attached to quantification of disease burden for health policy, an accurate description of dental diseases constitutes an essential responsibility. Our reviews of the literature for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed a lack of primary data, consistency, and comparability with other diseases as well as incorrect and incomplete reporting in the measurement of dental conditions. These issues are more accentuated in studies from low-and-middle income countries. Studies must meet the highest standards, so these efforts do not waste resources. Furthermore, the burden of dental diseases has been measured by dental indicators, which are not comparable to general health metrics. There is a need for measures that are easily understood by most people, not just dentists. Currently, there is no published comprehensible criteria to measure and report frequency studies in a standardised and comparable way with other diseases. The goal of this proposal is to develop an easy-to-understand manual and checklist to inform on the sound and comparable measurement and reporting of the number of natural teeth and the prevalence of tooth decay, gum disease and tooth loss. The guideline and checklist will be developed in three phases according to international standards. During phase I, the research team will summarise the available evidence and review existing standards to produce a core set of items for inclusion in the checklist. Phase II will involve a Delphi study, which is a method to achieve consensus among a group of experts working in academia and health policy. The Delphi study will consist of three rounds of online questionnaires designed to agree on which items to include in the checklist. The results will be summarised and fed back to the participants along with the updated version of the checklist that will be revised in the light of the comments received. In phase III, the findings will be communicated during a workshop in an international dental conference, in an open access publication and a dedicated website hosted at King's College London.