Aim: assess the validity of different simplified models of Cariogram versus the full Cariogram model.
Methods: Fifty-three young adults were recruited from Faculty of Dentistry, Ahram Canadian University in this cross-sectional observational study. All participants ages ranged from 18-29 years, medically free and signed informed consent. Caries risk assessment was done to all participants using full and simplified Cariogram. In the full version, all ten variables of Cariogram were recorded and evaluated. While regarding the simplified Cariogram, four variations were used with the omission of each factor one by one (salivary secretion rate, buffer capacity, mutans streptococci count) and then without all saliva related factors. Risk category of each participant was recorded in Cariogram. The area under receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC) was computed to compare between full and simplified Cariogram models. Values of P<0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results: Area under the curve for the four simplified models of Cariogram were 0.923, 0.99, 0.97, 0.91, respectively. No statistically significant difference in area under ROC curve was found in predictive ability between full and simplified models of Cariogram with p value > 0.05.
Conclusion: Simplified Cariogram is considered a valid tool for caries risk assessment in young adults. Thus, saving the extra burden from performing saliva tests could be achieved.