Reliability and constancy of information obtained in dental health interviews

Abstract— In a group of 297 persons interviewed about dental health, a random sample of 50 persons was reinterviewed by the same person, posing identical questions. The average interval between interviews was 9 months. Replies to questions concerning actual conditions, i.e. edentulousness, time of extraction and time of filling, showed a high degree of stability and constancy. The subjects' attitude to water fluoridation appeared, on the other hand, to have changed somewhat. Similarly, some of the respondents appeared to have acquired knowledge of dental health care as a result of the first interview and had altered their standpoint accordingly. Still, the results of the replies to the interview seemed reliable as defined by stability over time.