Purpose:

To design and evaluate the validity and reliability of a questionnaire that measures the knowledge and practices regarding dentists prevention in Mexico.

Methodology:

A bank of questions was created and evaluated by a group of experts, through the Lawshe test modified to determine content validity. Three pilot tests were carried out for the evaluation and adjustment of the questionnaire. Subsequently, the questionnaire was applied to a group of dentists (n=149) to evaluate internal consistency through Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient, and repeatability through the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). In addition, convergence validity was evaluated through Spearman´s test.

Results:

37 items were included divided into two dimensions, Knowledge (23) and Practice (14) and two global questions. A Likert type response scale was used. Internal consistency was α = 0.606, Knowledge and Practice were α=0.639 and 0.687 respectively. The ICC values obtained were 0.556, Knowledge was 0.815 and Practices 0.929. There was a statistically significant correlation between the knowledge and practice dimension scores with the global corresponding questions.

Limitations:

The main limitation in this study is the sample size for the evaluation of repeatability test.

Findings:

The questionnaire of Knowledge and Practice of Dentist´s Prevention (CPPO) has acceptable validity and reliability to be applied in Mexican dentists.

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