December 2008

Background: The evaluation of instruments measuring oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children has been largely among convenience samples of patients with specific diseases or disorders such as cleft lip/cleft palate or malocclusion. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the consistency and validity of the recently developed Child Perception Questionnaires (CPQ8–10 and CPQ11–14) and the corresponding Parental Perception Questionnaire (PPQ) in a general child population sample in South Australia. Methods: The study was nested in the Child Oral Health Study. Some 1401 children aged 8 to 13 in 2002/03 were approached. Children were asked to complete the CPQ8–10 and CPQ11–14 according to their age while parents completed the PPQ. The questionnaires included global ratings of oral health and overall well-being. Scores for four domains (oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional well-being and social well-being) were calculated. Data on caries experience (number of decayed, missing and filled tooth surfaces) and occlusal traits (using Dental Aesthetic Index) were collected for each child. Results: The CPQs and PPQ showed acceptable internal consistency and construct validity against global ratings of oral health and overall well-being. Children who had more caries or less acceptable occlusal traits reported poorer OHRQoL establishing the discriminant validity of the instruments. Parents of the children reported similar child OHRQoL. Conclusion: These results suggest that the instruments have consistency and validity in measuring OHRQoL of children in a general population. Key words: Children, general population, oral health-related quality of life.