Development and validation of the Italian version of the Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES-I)

To develop an Italian version of the Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES-I), validated in a prosthodontic and non-prosthodontic patients' cohort, for clinicians and researchers to use in their practice.

The OES-I was obtained with a process of translation and back translation from the English version of the questionnaire (OES-E). The psychometric properties of the obtained version were then observed in a group of 70 prosthodontic and 70 non-prosthodontic patients. Validity (discriminative and convergent) and reliability (internal and external) were measured. Also, CFA (confirmatory factor analysis) was run, and several models were obtained.

The OES-I scores were much higher for patients who were not scheduled for an esthetic prosthodontic treatment (p < 0.05); similarly, the same analysis conducted by a clinicians provided similar results (Pearson's coefficient = 0.93, p < 0.05). Reliability results show that the different items of the questionnaire are consistent within the test (Cronbach alpha = 0.93) and that the obtained results are stable within a reasonable time period (test-retest reliability = 0.98). The Final CFA model showed that OES score can properly characterize orofacial esthetic.

The OES-I is a reliable means both for clinicians and researchers to assess patients' self-perceived esthetic.

The OES-I can be used effectively for measuring the self-perceived esthetic appearance in all areas of dental practice and research.