The Dental Neglect and Dental Indifference scales compared

The objective was to determine whether the Dental Neglect and Dental Indifference scales measure similar constructs and have similar associations in the same population sample.

A random sample of 600 residents in the Dunedin South Electorate were sent a self-report questionnaire containing the Dental Neglect scale and the Dental Indifference scale. Socio-demographic and dental service-use data were also collected.

In all, 478 people (78.2%) returned the questionnaire. The mean Dental Neglect score was 12.4 (SD 4.4). The mean Dental Indifference scale score was 3.1 (SD 1.9). The association between the scales' scores was moderate (r = 0.58; P < 0.01), and there was only a moderate degree of concordance between the two. The two scales had largely similar associations with socio-demographic, oral care and self-care, and oral health impact characteristics, although slightly more associations were found with the Dental Indifference scale. The Dental Neglect scale was found to be easier to use than the Dental Indifference scale because it did not require a complex algorithm to compute scale scores.

The degree of concordance between the Dental Neglect and Dental Indifference scales was not as high as expected, which suggests that the scales may measure different constructs. However, the largely similar associations with important oral health and socio-demographic variables of the scales suggest the opposite. Although the Dental Indifference scale was slightly more discriminative, the Dental Neglect scale was easier to use in practice.