Initial development of a scale to measure dental indifference

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Dental Health Behavior
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Lack of concern for dental health leads to poor attendance at check-ups and low adoption of preventive measures.
• Dental indifference is a significant barrier to maintaining oral hygiene and seeking professional dental care.
• Identifying individuals with dental indifference is crucial for effective oral health promotion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a questionnaire to measure dental indifference.
• To assess the reliability and internal consistency of the dental indifference questionnaire.
• To identify demographic and behavioral correlates of dental indifference.

Main Methods:

• A dental indifference questionnaire was administered to 910 dentate adults in Scotland.
• Test-retest reliability was assessed with a subset of 500 respondents.
• Pearson correlation and Cronbach's alpha were used to measure reliability and internal consistency.

Main Results:

• The questionnaire demonstrated good reliability (Pearson correlation = 0.79) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.71).
• High scores on the dental indifference scale were associated with younger age, male gender, and manual occupations.
• Individuals with high dental indifference had fewer teeth and were less likely to have attended dental care in the past four years.

Conclusions:

• The dental indifference questionnaire is a reliable tool for identifying individuals with low oral health concern.
• The findings can inform targeted oral health promotion strategies for at-risk populations.
• The questionnaire aids in identifying individuals exhibiting behaviors associated with poor dental health engagement.