Development and validation of a three‐item questionnaire for dietitians to screen for poor oral health in people living with human immunodeficiency virus and facilitate dental referral

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a three‐item oral health questionnaire for use by dietitians in an ambulatory care setting to screen human immunodeficiency virus‐1‐infected patients at risk of oral diseases to facilitate dental referral. Methods: The study was a questionnaire‐based survey of 273 participants attending a human immunodeficiency virus clinic in Sydney, Australia. Subjects completed the oral health questionnaire and the Oral Health Impact Profile‐14 contemporaneously. Results: A statistically significant correlation (rho = 0.617 (95% CI 0.54, 0.69), P < 0.0001) was found between the oral health questionnaire and the Oral Health Impact Profile‐14 indicating adequate validity. Sensitivity for the three‐question oral health questionnaire was found to be 84% (95% CI 76, 89) with a specificity of 55% (95% CI 46, 63). The negative predictive value was 77 % (95% CI 68, 85). A single screening question performed less well compared with overall sensitivity of the three‐item oral health questionnaire. Conclusion: The present study found the three‐item oral health questionnaire to be a valid and sensitive screening tool to ‘trigger’ for further oral health assessment and referral to dental professionals. This is a useful tool for dietitians and other health‐care workers involved in the multidisciplinary preventative care of people living with human immunodeficiency virus.

Oral health referral trigger tools for people living with HIV

“…In addition, the high prevalence of oral disease in this population (68.0%) as indicated by the PMOH and a correspondingly higher PPV, it is more likely that a positive result is able to predict the prescence of oral disease more accurately with the ASC tool . Our findings further support the findings of the validation of the 3‐item ASC tool using the Oral Health Impact Profile‐14 which is a subjective measure of oral health …”

“…These nondental clinicians recognized the negative contribution of poor oral health and have proposed questionnaires to give a subjective measurement of the symptoms of oral discomfort to form the basis of a dental referral. Recently, a 3‐item oral health referral screening tool from the ASC was found to be valid and sensitive using the Oral Health Impact Profile‐14 as the reference standard for the impact of oral symptoms on everyday life . At the same time another 5‐item screening tool had been independently developed at SSWAHS clinic.…”

Measuring oral health during pregnancy: sensitivity and specificity of a maternal oral screening (MOS) tool

“…Lastly, it should be noted that although the OHIP- 14 is frequently used as a gold standard for measures in a variety of populations such as older people [19, 25] and HIV patients [20] it may not be as appropriate for this population. Only 6 of the 14 OHIP items were scored frequently >0 in the study population.…”

“…It has been used previously as a ‘gold standard’ measure for validating other oral assessment tools [20]. OHIP-14 contains 14 questions assessed on a 5-point Likert scale and the total scores range from 0 to 56 with higher scores indicating poorer oral health.…”

Oral Healthcare and Cardiovascular Disease

“…Currently, some tools do exist for nonYdental health professionals. 83 This tool, which consists of 3 items, was shown to have a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 55%. 81 The tool consists of 8 categories with a scoring from 0 = healthy, 1 = oral changes, or 2 = unhealthy in each assessment category.…”