In this study, we investigated both inter-examiner and intra-examiner differences in the evaluation of the marginal fracture characteristics of dental amalgam restorations. Evaluations were made by matching intra-oral photographs of the occlusal surfaces of clinical restorations to a reference set of clinical photographs illustrating increasing amounts of marginal fracture. Four amalgam alloys and five examiners provided the data base. Differences in marginal fracture indices were found among examiners and between evaluation times for the same examiners. However, these differences were reduced significantly after application of a standardization procedure.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Birtcil, R.F., Jr.; Pelzner, R.B.; and Stark, M.M. (1981): A 30-month Clinical Evaluation of the Influence of Finishing and Size of Restoration on the Margin Performance of Five Amalgam Alloys, J Dent Res60:1949-1956.
2.
Goldberg, J.; Munster, E.; Rydinge, E.; Sanchez, L.; and Lambert, K. (1980): Experimental Design in the Clinical Evaluation of Amalgam Restorations, J Biomed Mater Res14 :777-788.
3.
Labovitz, S. (1970): The Assignment of Numbers to Rank Order Categories , Am Sociol Rev35:515-524.
4.
Leinfelder, K.F. (1980): Clinical Performance of Amalgams With High Content of Copper, Oper Dent5:125-130.
5.
Letzel, H.; Aardening, C.J.M.W.; Fick, J.M.; Van Leusen, J.; and Vrijhoef, M.M.A. (1978): Tarnish, Corrosion, Marginal Fracture, and Creep of Amalgam Restorations: A Two-year Clinical Study, Oper Dent3:82-92.
6.
Mahler, D.B. and Marantz, R.L. (1979): The Effect of Time on the Marginal Fracture Behaviour of Amalgam, J Oral Rehab6:391-398.
7.
Mahler, D.B.; Terkla, L.G.; and Van Eysden, J. (1970): Marginal Fracture vs. Mechanical Properties of Amalgam, J Dent Res49:1452-1457.
8.
Osborne, J.W.; Phillips, R.W.; Gale, E.N.; and Binon, P.P. (1976): Three-year Clinical Comparison of Three Amalgam Alloy Types Emphasizing an Appraisal of the Evaluation Methods Used, J Am Dent Assoc93:784-789.
9.
Ryge, G.; Tonn, E.M.; Eick, J.D.; and Jendresen, M.D. (1983): Evaluation of Clinical Behavior of Six Dental Amalgams, J Dent Res62(Spec Iss): 656, Abst. No. 62.
