Validation and psychometric evaluation of the Albanian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-5 (OHIP-5-ALB) in Kosovo

This study validated the Albanian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-5 (OHIP-5-Alb), a brief, patient-reported outcome measure assessing oral health-related quality of life. Although the OHIP-49 is comprehensive, its length limits practical use, leading to shorter versions like the OHIP-14 and finally OHIP-5, which have been recommended for wide usage. Material and Methods The OHIP-5-Alb was translated and culturally adapted following rigorous international guidelines and tested across diverse samples: general population (n = 441) aged 18–90, having different oral status and educational backgrounds. Dental students (n = 30) were included for the test–retest reliability, and prosthodontic patients who needed new complete dentures (n = 38) for the responsiveness. Results Showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.725) comparable to other international validations. Test–retest reliability over two weeks showed moderate to excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (0.58–0.98) and similar Weighted Kappa correlation coefficients (0.54–0.92), indicating the questionnaire’s stability over time. Convergent validity was confirmed through strong correlations between self-perceived oral health and the OHIP-5 scores. Discriminant validity was confirmed by significant score differences among different dental status groups. Those with natural teeth reported better OHRQoL than fixed-, and finally removable denture wearers, who faced functional and sensory challenges in chewing and food-flavour perception. Educational level also correlated with denture status; more removable dentures existed in lower educated population, as predicted, while high educated individuals had higher percentage of own teeth or fixed partial dentures, reflecting known socio-dental patterns. Complete denture wearers in general population had significantly lower OHIP5 scores than those who came searching for new complete denture treatment. Responsiveness revealed significant improvements in most OHIP-5 items following new complete denture treatment, except for “Less flavour in food,” consistent with previous findings about sensory limitations and palatal coverage. Conclusion Limitations include potential sampling bias, underrepresentation of low-income subjects, rural, elderly, and institutionalized individuals, reliance on self-reports without clinical verification in general population, and inclusion of only complete denture treatment for responsiveness. Despite these, OHIP-5-Alb proved to be a reliable, valid, and efficient tool for clinical and epidemiological use in Albanian-speaking populations in the Republic of Kosovo, maintaining good psychometric properties while reducing respondent burden.