title: Development of the Teen Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Instrument.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to develop the Teen Oral Health-Related Quality of Life instrument (TOQOL) and demonstrate its validity and reliability in a diverse sample of 13-18-year-old adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 363 adolescents aged 13-18 years participated in this cross sectional study. Oral screening examinations were conducted to collect oral health status data. Adolescents completed the TOQOL and a generic measure of health-related quality of life, the PedsQL. The psychometric properties of the TOQOL were evaluated in terms of face, content, convergent, concurrent and discriminant validity in addition to internal reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 16-item TOQOL covers five domains: Physical functioning, Role functioning, Social functioning, Oral problems, and Emotional functioning. The total scale and subscales showed satisfactory reliability with Cronbach alpha ranging from 0.75 to 0.92. TOQOL scores showed significant associations with perceived oral health status and the PedsQL (convergent validity) and discriminated well between adolescents with caries and adolescents who were caries free (discriminate validity).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TOQOL is a valid and reliable oral health-related quality of life measurement that can be recommended for self-report in adolescents aged 13-18 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Foundational Sciences, East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Wanda G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine; Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Avron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spiro
authors.affiliation: Department of General Dentistry, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sharron E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Rich
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Raul I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: adolescents; oral health; outcome measures; quality of life