Construct validity of Locker's global oral health item

Abstract

With clinical oral examinations not always possible in health surveys, researchers may instead be invited to add questions to a wider health survey. In such situations, an item is needed which adequately represents both clinical and self-reported oral health. This study investigated the clinical validity of Locker's global self-reported oral health item among young middle-aged adults in populations in New Zealand and Australia. Clinical examination and self-report data (including the OHIP-14) were obtained from recent national dental surveys in NZ and Australia, and from age-38 assessments in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. National dataset analyses involved 35- to 44-year-olds. Caries and tooth-loss experience showed mostly consistent, statistically significant gradients across the Locker item responses; those responding 'Excellent' had the lowest scores, and those responding 'Poor' the highest. Periodontitis experience gradients in the NZ national sample were mainly as hypothesized; those rating their oral health as 'Poor' had the highest disease experience. OHIP-14 gradients across the Locker item responses were consistent and as hypothesized. The proportion of disease in the population borne by those 'Fair' or 'Poor' ranged from 26% to 72%. These findings provide preliminary support for the measure's validity as a global self-reported oral health measure in young middle-aged adults.