Validation of the Persian version of the Caries Impacts and Experiences Questionnaire for Children (CARIES-QC)

Background: The caries impacts and experiences questionnaire for children, which measures the effects of dental caries on children’s quality of life, was designed for the first time in England. The present study aimed to create a localized questionnaire with good validity and reliability on the topic of quality of life related to dental caries for children aged 5 to 16 years in the Persian language from their perspective. Methods: First, the existing English questionnaire was translated into Persian according to international standards, and then it was filled out by children with active dental caries. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and convergent validity were used to determine construct validity. Ethical approval was granted for the study. SPSS and AMOS software were used for statistical analysis. Results: One hundred forty-nine children aged 5 to 16 participated in the study. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of this questionnaire was 0.942, which indicates the good coherence of the questions. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values in each questionnaire field were more than 0.50, and their total value was 0.808, which shows an acceptable correlation and internal stability. The construct validity study results showed the single-factor model’s good fit. With the increase in the DMFT/dmft index, the final score of the questionnaires increased significantly, and the quality of life worsened. Conclusion: The Persian version of the caries impacts and experiences questionnaire for children was valid and reliable. The study results showed that therapeutic intervention significantly reduces the adverse effects of dental caries.