BACKGROUND: The Franciscan Hospital for Children Oral Health-Related Quality of 
Life questionnaire (FHC-OHRQOL-Q) is an instrument designed specifically for 
parents and caregivers of patients with special needs that has not yet been 
applied in Spain. The aim of this study was to adapt it to Spanish and evaluate 
its reliability and validity in patients with intellectual disability (ID) 
treated under general anesthesia.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted in two different stages: a) 
cross-cultural adaptation of the original questionnaire, and b) cross-sectional 
study on 100 parents and caregivers who completed the piloted FHC-OHRQOL-Q. The 
patients were examined according to the WHO methodology. Dental treatments 
performed were recorded. Statistical tests were used to evaluate reliability 
(internal consistency) and validity (content, criterion, construct and 
discriminant) of the instrument.
RESULTS: The mean age was 24 years (range=4-71 years). The most frequent causes 
of ID were psychomotor retardation (25%) and cerebral palsy (24%). The items 
most frequently answered by parents and caregivers were eating and nutrition 
problems (80%) and bad breath/taste (57%). Reliability (Cronbach's alpha 
coefficient) was considered excellent (alpha=0.80-0.95). The analysis of the 
factorial validity yielded similar results to the original questionnaire. The 
high response rate of items (>96%) allowed content validity. Criterion validity 
was confirmed by a significant correlation with questions on oral health and 
oral well-being. Discriminant validity was demonstrated by the significant 
association of ≥21.5 years of age with worse oral symptoms (p=0.034) and 
parental concerns (p=0.005), DMFT index ≥3 with daily life problems (p=0.02), ≥4 
decayed teeth with daily life problems (p=0.001), and >2 dental extractions with 
oral symptoms (p=0.000), daily life problems (p=0.002) and parent's perceptions 
(p=0.043).
CONCLUSIONS: The FHC-OHRQOL-Q in Spanish is a reliable and valid instrument to 
apply in clinical practice to evaluate the impact of OHRQOL in mostly adult 
patients with ID, accessible to Spanish-speaking parents and caregivers.