Objectives: To validate a new four-question instrument as an outcome assessment tool for oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and compare its results to the Oral Health Impact Profile 14 (OHIP-14). We also tested the relationship between subjects' chief complaints and perceived impact of their oral health on their quality of life.

Methods: One hundred and two new patients (55 females and 47 males; age 19-79 years) at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine filled out the investigational survey instrument and underwent a clinical examination. Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the investigational questions and the OHIP-14. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and odds ratios computed using generalized estimating equations. Analyses were performed using SPSS (Chicago, Ill) and SAS (Cary, NC).

Results: Domain-specific correlations of the new measure with OHIP-14 were moderate to high 0.5-0.8 (all p<0.001). The reliability coefficient was high in all domains (α >0.7). Sensitivity and specificity analyses showed that the new question in the 3 domains have a range of good to excellent discriminative ability in measuring the impact of oral problems on quality of life in comparison to the OHIP-14 questions within the same domain. In the psychological domain, the sensitivity was 86% (95% CI: 73% - 94%), in the social domain it was 86% (95% CI: 77% - 92%) while in the physical domain, it was 67% (95% CI: 56% - 76%). Those who presented with pain had an odds of it influencing their quality of life that was 21 times the odds for those presenting for routine visit (p=0.006).

Conclusion: The new oral health related quality of life measure has an acceptable validity and reliability in testing the impact of oral health on quality of life and is a valid tool in clinical settings.