Evaluation of the Systematized Nomenclature of Dentistry using case reports: preliminary results.

The Systematized Nomenclature of Dentistry (SNODENT) is an effort of the American Dental Association (ADA) to develop a controlled terminology that addresses the needs of clinical dentistry. The ADA, collaborating with the College of American Pathologists, developed and incorporated SNODENT as a microglossary of SNOMED. However, little evidence exists of the effectiveness of its clinical coverage. We extracted diagnostic terms from clinical case reports and evaluated SNODENT's and other medical terminologies' coverage of those terms.