Factor structure and internal consistency of the Oral Hygiene Habits Scale in general population and dental clinic samples

Abstract

The lack of oral hygiene can cause different types of conditions, such as caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. In Mexico, the use of the Oral Hygiene Habits Scale (OHHS) has recently been proposed as a diagnostic tool for the health sector. The objective of this research was to establish the internal consistency and factor structure of the OHHS, so that it can be applied in the evaluation of oral hygiene habits. In Monterrey, Mexico, a general population sample (GPS) of 256 participants and another dental clinic sample (DCS) of  240 participants were collected, using nonprobability sampling. The discriminability and internal consistency of the OHHS 10 items were verified, the internal consistency of the scale was calculated, the factor structure was explored and the invariance of the factor model across the GPS and the DCS was contrasted. The internal consistency of the OHHS increased and was high (ordinal α = 0.833 in GPS, and = 0.865 in DCS), by eliminating two repeated items: dental brushing frequency (item 1), and toothpaste use during brushing (item 3). In both samples, two factors were defined: dental floss with four items (ordinal α = 0.911 in GPS and 0.944 in DCS), and dental brushing also with four items (ordinal α = 0.628 in GPS, and 0.633 DCS). The internal consistency of the latter improved (α ordinal = 0.693 in GPS, and 0.727 in DCS), when the item  8 was included (attention paid to cleaning the interdental space). The two-factor model had good fit, and acceptable invariance properties across the two samples. We concluded that the eight-item OHHS is consistent, and the two-factor model is valid across GPS and DCS, where item eight displays a possible  double  interpretation.