Different dental patient-reported outcome measures (dPROMs) exist for children and adults, leading to an incompatibility in outcome assessment in these two age groups. However, the dental patient-reported outcomes (dPROs) Oral Function, Orofacial Pain, Orofacial Appearance, and Psychosocial Impact are the same in the two groups, providing an opportunity for compatible dPRO assessment if dPROMs were identical. Therefore, we adapted the 5-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-5), a recommended dPROM for adults, to school-aged children to allow a standardized dPRO assessment in individuals aged 7 years and above.

It was the aim of this study to develop a 5-item OHIP for school-aged children (OHIP-5School) and to investigate the instrument's score reliability and validity.

German-speaking children (N=95, mean age: 8.6 years +/- 1.3 years, 55% girls) from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria and a private dental practice in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany participated. Score reliability was studied by determining scores’ internal consistency and temporal stability by calculating Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients, respectively. Construct validity was assessed comparing OHIP-5School scores with OHIP-5 as well as Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ-G8-10) scores.

Score reliability for the OHIP-5School was “good” (Cronbach's alpha: 0.81) or “excellent” (Intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.92). High correlations between OHIP-5School, OHIP-5, and CPQ-G8-10 scores were observed and hypotheses about a pattern of these correlations were confirmed, providing evidence for score validity.

The OHIP-5School and the original OHIP-5 are short and psychometrically sound instruments to measure the oral health related quality of life in school-aged children, providing an opportunity for a standardized oral health impact assessment with the same metric in school-aged children, adolescents, and adults.