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Background Oral diseases rank among the most prevalent non-communicable diseases in modern societies. In Germany, oral epidemiological data show that both dental caries and periodontal diseases are highly prevalent, though significant improvements in oral health has been taking in the population within the last decades, particularly in children. It is, therefore, the aim of the Fifth German Oral Health Study (DMS V) to actualize the data on current oral health status and to gather information on oral health behavior and risk factors. In addition to current oral health monitoring, the study will also permit conclusions about trends in the development of oral health in Germany between 1989 and 2014. Methods/Design DMS V is a cross-sectional, multi-center, nationwide representative, socio-epidemiological study to investigate the oral health status und behavior of the German resident population in four age cohorts. Study participants are children (12-year-olds), adults (35- to 44-year-olds), young olds (65- to 74-year-olds), and old olds (75- to 100-year-olds) who are drawn from local residents' registration offices. Social-science investigation parameters concern subjective perceptions and attitudes regarding oral health and nutrition, sense of coherence, and socio-demographic data. Clinical oral parameters are tooth loss, caries and periodontitis, prosthodontic status, further developmental and acquired dental hard tissue and mucosal lesions. To ensure reproducibility, the dental investigators are trained and calibrated by experts and multiple reliability checks are performed throughout the field phase. Statistical analyses are calculated according to a detailed statistical analysis plan. Discussion The DMS studies first performed in 1989 and repeated in 1997 and 2005 are the only crosssectional oral health studies conducted in Germany on a population-based national representative level. Updated prevalence and trend analyses of key oral diseases are, therefore, of major epidemiological and health services research interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questionnaires measuring oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) need reference values for their interpretation. Population-based norms for a questionnaire allow a comparison of the level of OHRQoL observed for an individual or a group of subjects with the level of that construct in the general population. The aims of this study were to establish normative values for abbreviated instruments of the German version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-G). Data of the long OHIP-G (53 items) were collected in a national survey (N=2050, age: 16-79 years). Three short instruments with 5 (OHIP-G5), 14 (OHIP-G14) and 21 items (OHIP-G21) were derived from the long OHIP. Norms were computed for the OHIP-G summary score (simple sum of all item responses). The OHIP-G summary score distribution was described by empirical cumulative distribution functions. Because denture usage was strongly associated with OHIP-G summary scores, percentile-based norms were stratified by this variable. Among subjects without dentures, 50% of the population had OHIP-G5 or OHIP-G14 scores 0 and OHIP-G21 scores < or = 2. Summary scores for the three abbreviated OHIPs were < or = 2, < or = 4, and < or = 7 for subjects with removable dentures and < or = 3, < or = 6, and < or = 8 for subjects with complete dentures. Among subjects without dentures, 90% of the population had < or = 4 OHIP-G5, < or = 11 OHIP-G14, and < or = 16 OHIP-G21 points. For subjects with removable dentures, the figures were < or = 7, < or = 17, and < or = 26 points for OHIP-G5, OHIP-G14 and OHIP-G21, respectively; and for subjects with complete dentures, < or = 10, < or = 25, and < or = 38 points, respectively. The presented norms will provide a frame of reference in future cross-sectional studies in the general population or samples with specific oral conditions when OHRQoL is measured by OHIP-G5, OHIP-G14 or OHIP-G21.