When caries experience in primary teeth is used as a risk
indicator to predict caries in permanent teeth, the commonly
used and most pragmatic characteristics of tests are
sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value. Previous studies
reported ranges of sensitivities from 28% to 76%, specificities
from 63% to 93%, and predictive values from 61% to 77% for
overall positive prediction (Abernathy et al., 1987; Seppä et
al., 1989; Wilson and Ashley, 1989; Helfenstein et al., 1991;
Disney et al., 1992). Results of this longitudinal study
demonstrated that the best indicator of sensitivity (94%) was
caries on any of the primary molars. The best indicator of
specificity (98%) was caries on all maxillary anterior teeth.