Development and validation of a questionnaire on perceived prosthodontic treatment needs in Malaysian adults

A discrepancy between dentists' assessments and patients' expectations during prosthodontic treatment is inevitable. Incorporating dental patients' concerns about their prosthodontic treatment needs is essential during treatment planning, yet studies assessing these needs in adult dental patients are lacking.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a novel instrument, termed the questionnaire on perceived prosthodontic treatment needs (PPTN), that assesses perceived prosthodontic treatment needs in adults.

The PPTN was developed following a literature review, consultation with healthcare workers, and patient interviews. It included 15 questions and a self-rated need for prosthodontic treatment, categorized on a Likert scale. A cross-sectional descriptive study was completed on 193 dental patients seeking or receiving prosthodontic treatment.

Three perceived prosthodontic treatment need factors were identified (psychosocial impact, esthetic concern, and function) by using exploratory factor analysis. A higher PPTN score indicated greater perceived prosthodontic treatment needs. The identified factors represent 67.8% of the variance with eigenvalues of >1. The PPTN had a high degree of internal consistency and reliability, as the final questionnaire received a Cronbach alpha of 0.75 and an intraclass coefficient of 0.75 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.68 to 0.80 (F(192, 576)=3.94, P<.001).

The newly developed questionnaire was valid and will help understand patients' perceived treatment needs and benefit further prosthodontic research and clinical application.