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Validations of the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS)DOI: 10.1590/S0102-311X2012000200015 Keywords: preschool child, questionnaires, oral health, quality of life. Abstract: this study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the brazilian version of the early childhood oral health impact scale (ecohis). a total of 247 children aged 2 to 5 years and their parents/guardians participated in this study. a clinical oral examination was performed and the parents/guardians completed the ecohis questionnaire. within a period of four-weeks, 20% of the participants repeated the ecohis questionnaire. construct validity was determined using spearman's rank correlation. discriminant validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were also evaluated. the children were divided into 2 groups: group 1 (with dental caries) and group 2 (caries-free). children with caries showed higher mean ecohis scores than the caries-free children. the child impact section (p < 0.01), family impact section (p < 0.01) and total ecohis scores (p < 0.01) were significantly correlated with tooth decay. cronbach's alpha coefficients demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency. the brazilian version of the ecohis is a valid instrument for assessing oral health-related quality of life in preschool children with brazilian portuguese-speaking primary caregivers.
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