Research Article

Prevalence of Dental Caries in 5- and 6-Year-Old Myanmar Children

Table 3

Sensitivity of dental caries of deciduous teeth by item response theory (IRT) analysis.

Item discrimination (aj)Item difficulty (bj)
EstimateSE

MaxillaryE0.8480.1450.021
D−0.2250.1290.017
C1.6320.1950.038
B0.8060.1450.021
A0.4410.1390.019

MandibularE−0.0980.1280.016
D−0.0610.1280.016
C2.2910.2650.070
B2.8460.3710.138
A2.6900.3700.137

Two parameter logistic models were applied for analysis. Item discrimination (aj) indicated the slope of the item response curve shown in Figure 2, and the item difficulty (bj) indicated the rising phase of the curve. Lower values indicate high sensitivity for dental varies (easy-to-be dental caries) in both item discrimination and item difficulty. Higher values indicate high tolerance for dental varies (hard-to-be dental caries).