Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the oral health impact profile (OHIP)-14

Background: The need for assessment of oral health related quality of life has been increased over the last decades. The aim of this study was to develop a Persian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-14 and to evaluate its reliability and validity for its use in Persian-speaking communities. Methods: The original version of the OHIP-14 was translated into the Persian language using the back-translation technique. To establish the reliability of the translated instrument, internal consistency and test-retest reliability trials were performed on 20 subjects (at 4-week intervals) Cronbach’s alpha was used. One hundred sixty adults over 50 years of age who attended Health Care Centers in Sari and Babol were recruited to fill out the questionnaires and received a clinical examination by a single dentist. The socio-demographic and oral health information was also collected. Results: The test-retest reliability was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.095). In the main study, Cronbach’s reliability coefficient for all 14 questions in each dimension was more than 70%. The individuals in need of dental treatment showed significantly higher OHIP scores than the individuals not requiring treatment. The individuals with hopeless teeth, negative self-perceived oral had significantly higher OHIP scores. Conclusion: The Persian version of the OHIP-14 is a comprehensive and accurate instrument with acceptable reliability and validity for measuring oral health–related quality of life.