title: Screening preschool children with toothache: validation of the Brazilian version of the Dental Discomfort Questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Dental Discomfort Questionnaire (DDQ) is an observational instrument intended to measure dental discomfort and/or pain in children under 5 years of age. This study aimed to validate a previously cross-culturally adapted version of DDQ in a Brazilian children sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 263 children (58.6% boys, mean age 43.5 months) that underwent a dental examination to assess dental caries, and their parent that filled out the cross-culturally adapted DDQ on their behalf. Exploratory factor analysis (principal component analysis form) and psychometric tests were done to assess instrument's dimensionality and reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exploratory factor analysis revealed a multidimensional instrument with 3 domains: 'eating and sleeping problems' (Cronbach's alpha 0.81), 'earache problems' (alpha 0.75), and 'problems with brushing teeth' (alpha 0.78). The assessment had excellent stability (weighted-kappa varying from 0.68 to 0.97). Based on the factor analysis, the model with all 7 items included only in the first domain (named DDQ-B) was further explored. The items and total median score of the DDQ-B were related to parent-reported toothache and the number of decayed teeth, demonstrating good construct and discriminant validities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DDQ-B was proven a reliable pain assessment tool to screen this group of Brazilian children for caries-related toothache, with good psychometric properties.
authors.forename: Anelise
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daher
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Versloot
authors.forename: Cláudio Rodrigues
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Leles
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Goias, Goiania, GO, Brazil. lsucasas@ufg.br.
authors.forename: Luciane Rezende
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D010146:Pain / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014098:Toothache / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*