Translation and validation of the Fear of Dental Pain (short-form) Questionnaire in China

Abstract

Background: Individuals who respond fearfully to dental pain are at increased risk of overestimated pain and escalating anxiety. The short form of the Fear of Dental Pain Questionnaire (s-FDPQ; van Wijk et al, 2006) is a validated measure developed to quickly screen patients in respect to their dental fear. As there is a high prevalence of dental fear/anxiety in Chinese adults, our study aimed to translate the s-FDPQ into Chinese and then explore the reliability and validity of this measure in a Chinese population. Methods: We translated the s-FDPQ using the forwards-backwards method and pilot tested it on a small sample of adults in China. Following this, 349 Chinese adults completed the newly translated scale, as well as well as a standardised dental anxiety questionnaire (Modified Dental Anxiety Scale Chinese version) to test construct validity. 107 participants completed the s-FDPQ again 2 weeks later to gauge test-retest reliability. Findings: The Chinese s-FDPQ was internally consistent (alpha = 0.9) and demonstrated construct validity (r = 0.7 when correlated with the MDAS). Test-retest reliability was good (r = 0.7). Discussion: These findings suggest that the s-FDPQ is a reliable and valid measure for assessing Chinese adults’ fear of dental pain. This Chinese version should help us conduct research in dental pain research to evaluate the cross-cultural stability of the s-FDPQ, to investigate the relationship between FDP and pain felt during dental procedures, and to explore health psychology interventions to positively influence pain experienced during dental procedures.