The 4-dimensional (4D) structure of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), comprising of the dimensions Oral Function, Orofacial Pain, Orofacial Appearance, and Psychosocial Impact, is clinically plausible and psychometrically solid. The original Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) instrument and its short-form versions have been proven to lend themselves well to the assessment of these 4 OHRQoL dimensions. However, whether this 4-dimensional approach to oral health impact characterization can be performed on a global scale, that is, for most of the world's population, is not known.

The purpose of this study was perform a systematic review to identify all cross-cultural adaptations of OHIP versions with 49, 20/19, 14, and 5 items. The global availability of 4D oral health impact characterization was investigated.

We performed searches of electronic databases- Scopus, Pubmed, Web of Science, along with hand searching in June 2022 to identify all cross-cultural language adaptations of the different OHIP versions available in the literature. Whether the 4D oral health impact assessment can be considered a global approach was judged based on the criteria whether 4D psychometric information was available for at least 75% of the most widely spoken languages with an OHIP version.

We identified 82 studies with a total of 90 individual OHIP language versions for 45 languages. Among the top 20 languages with most first-language (native) speakers, 16 (80%) had OHIP versions. Among the top 20 languages with the most first- and second-language speakers, also 16 (80%) had OHIP versions. Of these 16 OHIP versions, across both language categories, 13 versions (81%) allowed for 4D oral health impact characterization.

Four-dimensional oral health impact assessment using the dimensions Oral Function, Orofacial Pain, Orofacial Appearance, and Psychosocial Impact can be considered a globally available approach given that OHIP versions with 4D information are readily available for most widely spoken languages. Thus, psychometrically sound, practical, and internationally comparable oral health impact characterization can be easily performed to study population oral health and determine oral disease impact and treatment efficacy for dental patients.

Oral health impact profile

Cross-cultural adaptation

OHRQoL

Dimensions

Systematic review

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