Methodological Approaches to Assessing Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents Using the CPQ11–14 Questionnaire

Assessing the impact of dental caries on adolescents’ quality of life requires a combination of standardised clinical indices and validated patient-reported instruments. The aim of this study was to systematise the methodological approaches to assessing the dental status and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of adolescents, with emphasis on the Child Perceptions Questionnaire for 11–14-year-olds (CPQ11–14). An analytical review of the literature on clinical dental indices, the development and validation of the CPQ11–14 and the cross-cultural adaptation of self-report questionnaires was carried out. The analysis showed that the dental status of adolescents should be assessed using the prevalence of caries, the DMFT index and the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) according to WHO criteria, while OHRQoL should be assessed using the CPQ11–14 or its 16-item short form, which covers four domains: oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional and social well-being. Use of the questionnaire in a new linguistic setting requires a five-stage cross-cultural adaptation. To evaluate the effect of treatment, repeated measurement before treatment, immediately after oral sanitation and three months later is recommended. These approaches provide a methodological basis for studying the OHRQoL of adolescents in Uzbekistan.