A child-centred measure of tooth hypersensitivity for molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH-TH): development…

StudyEuropean archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry· Aug 2026

A child-centred measure of tooth hypersensitivity for molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH-TH): development and psychometric evaluation.

J Monteiro, F Gilchrist, H Rodd

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Allergy & ImmunologyStudyDiagnosisQ1IF 2.0

The new MIH-TH measure showed a strong correlation with the global question.

A child-centred measure of tooth hypersensitivity for molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH-TH): development and psychometric evaluation.

J Monteiro … H Rodd

European archives of paediatric dentistry · Aug 2026

Purpose

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a child-centred, condition-specific OHRQoL for molar incisor hypomineralisation-related tooth hypersensitivity.

Methods

Children aged 6-16 years were included across three stages: Stage 1: semi-structured interviews to explore children's experiences of tooth hypersensitivity (N = 17); Stage 2: cognitive interviews and refinement (N = 29), patient and public involvement (patient and public involvement), a Delphi survey, and stakeholder consensus group meeting; Stage 3: psychometric evaluation and Rasch analysis of the measure and comparison with CPQ 11-14 -ISF:16 (N = 103).

n = 17

r = 0.78

Results

r = 0.78

Higher scores on the new measure meant children reported a higher overall impact

n = 17

More results

In Stage 1, five themes were identified: description, triggers, impact, responses, and experiences within the dental setting.

Daily activities and emotional wellbeing were affected by tooth hypersensitivity, with cold stimuli reported as a common trigger.

More results

Children described adaptation strategies and the invisible nature of tooth hypersensitivity using rich vocabulary.

The final measure demonstrated good internal consistency (McDonald's omega: 0.87) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.74).

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Conclusion

Molar incisor hypomineralisation-tooth hypersensitivity is the first child-centred OHRQoL patient-reported outcome measure for molar incisor hypomineralisation-related tooth hypersensitivity in children, demonstrating good validity, reliability and responsiveness, with potential for use in clinical settings and research studies.

A child-centred measure of tooth hypersensitivity for molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH-TH): development and psychometric evaluation.

A child-centred measure of tooth hypersensitivity for molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH-TH): development and psychometric evaluation.

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