Introduction: The study was conceived to formulate a tool to evaluate child perceptions related to oral health in 11- to 14-year-olds tailor-made for Indian children in Hindi. The original child perceptions questionnaire (CPQ11-14) was translated into Hindi and it was tested for validity and reliability.
Materials and methods: The original CPQ11-14 was translated into Hindi and some questions were rephrased to suit the sociocultural situation in India. The domains of self-esteem and psychological well-being were added to the questionnaire to broaden the scope of parameters to thoroughly assess the impact on child perceptions toward oral health. The English and Hindi versions of the CPQ11-14 were administered during the first visit to test for validity and the children were recalled after 1 week and administered the Hindi questionnaire again after 1 week to check for reliability.
Results: The results showed significant positive correlation between oral symptoms, decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) functional limitation and malocclusion. The mean functional limitation score was found to be higher in subjects with malocclusion in both the English and Hindi questionnaires. The test–retest samples were evaluated using the paired t-test and showed no significant difference between the first and second administration which suggested good reliability.
Conclusion: The translated and modified Hindi CPQ11-14 was found to be valid and highly reliable for use in India. The adaptation of the original questionnaire by modifying certain questions to suit the Indian condition was found to be culturally relevant.