The sensitivity, specificity, predictive value,
and efficiency were determined for different tooth
combinations according to two categories: caries present in any
one of these teeth, or caries present in all of the teeth. Table 3
shows that the highest sensitivity (93.9%) was observed in
caries on any of the primary molars with the highest predictive
value (85.4%), and the highest specificity (91.6%) was
observed in caries on all of the primary molars. An almostperfect
specificity, 97.7% for caries, on all maxillary anterior
teeth was paired with a low sensitivity. The highest efficiency
(65.8%) was for caries on all mandibular primary molars. The
positive predictive value decreased when the prevalence was
low, even for high values of sensitivity or specificity.