Validation of a Hebrew version of the Oral Health Impact Profile 14.

Objective: This study determined the validity of a Hebrew version of the Oral Health Impact Profile in a cross-sectional study of a general dental practice in Israel.
Methods: The original English version of a short-form oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) was translated into Hebrew using the back-translation technique. Participants were interviewed and examined clinically by a calibrated dentist. Information on the subjects' sociodemographic background and oral health conditions was collected.
Results: A total of 142 persons were interviewed and clinically examined. The Cronbach's alpha and the standardized item alpha for OHIP-14 were both 0.88. Cronbach's alpha of the translated OHIP-14 subscales ranged from 0.48 to 0.76. Construct validity of the translated Hebrew version was supported by the finding that the total OHIP score correlated with the number of decayed teeth, missing teeth, need for prosthodontic treatment, and pattern of dental attendance. Participants with oral pain were more likely to report impact on one of the OHIP subscales and to have more impacts than participants who were pain free.
Conclusions: The Hebrew version of OHIP-14 presented acceptable validity and reliability. Further research is needed to assess the value of this measure in Israel.