Development and Validation of a Focused Tool for Assessing Oral Hygiene Practices

This short communication presents the development and content validation of a focused Oral Hygiene Practice Questionnaire designed to assess daily behaviors associated with periodontal risk. The 20-item tool was constructed using standard oral hygiene guidelines and validated through expert consensus methods, including item-level content validity index (CVI), Scale-Level CVI, and modified content validity ratio. Clarity and acceptability were assessed by lay participants, with all items achieving high agreement. The scoring system (0-2 per item; total score: 0-25) was endorsed by experts for its relevance and interpretability. Findings confirm the questionnaire's strong content validity, clarity, and acceptability, supporting its utility as a behavioral assessment tool in both clinical and public health contexts.