Validation of the Spanish version of the "Questionnaire on the treatment of approximal and occlusal caries".

OBJECTIVES

To translate and validate a Spanish version of the "Questionnaire on the treatment of approximal and occlusal caries" as a method of collecting information about treatment decisions on caries management in Chilean primary health care services.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The original questionnaire proposed by Espelid et al. was translated into Spanish using the forward-backward translation technique. Subsequently, validation of the Spanish version was undertaken. Data were collected from two separate samples; first, from 132 Spanish-speaking dentists recruited from primary health care services and second, from 21 individuals characterised as cariologists. Internal consistency was evaluated by the generation of Cronbach's alpha, test-retest reliability was evaluated by Cohen's kappa, convergent validity was evaluated by comparing the total scale scores to a global evaluation of treatment trends and discriminant validity was evaluated by investigating the differences in total scale scores between the Spanish-speaking dentist and cariologist samples.

RESULTS

Cronbach's alpha indicated an internal consistency of 0.63 for the entire scale. Cohen's kappa correlation coefficient expressed a test-retest reliability of 0.83. Convergent validity determined a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.24 (p < 0.01). The comparison of proportions (chi-squared) indicated that discriminant validity was statistically significant (p < 0.01), using a one-tailed test.

CONCLUSIONS

The Spanish version of the "Questionnaire on the treatment of approximal and occlusal caries" is a valid and reliable instrument for collecting information regarding treatment decisions in cariology.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The clinical relevance of this study is to acquire a reliable instrument that allows for the determination of treatment decisions in Spanish-speaking dentists.