Development and validation of “parental satisfaction with knee-to-knee dental examination” scale: high correlation with parental sense of competence

Introduction – The knee-to-knee position is considered an effective and comfortable position for patients, parents, and dentists to facilitate a toddler's dental examination. Since the knee-to-knee method requires the involvement of parents, greater parental competence may facilitate more comfortable involvement in the examination and may influence parents' satisfaction. The objectives of the study were (1) to develop and validate a scale measuring parental satisfaction with the knee-to-knee dental examination position (2); to assess parental satisfaction with the knee-to-knee dental examination; and (3) to examine the relationships between parental competence, the dentist's estimation of parental satisfaction, and other demographic characteristics and parental satisfaction. Methods – A 13-item questionnaire measuring parental satisfaction with knee-to-knee dental examination (PSKTK) was developed. The questionnaire was validated via two samples to perform exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Parental satisfaction was subsequently contrasted with other key variables of interest, such as parental sense of competence (PSOC), dentist's estimation, age and gender. Differences in the main variables were tested. Results – An 11-item version of the PSKTK scale was validated. Parental satisfaction was found to be high in 90% of sample 1 and 85% of sample 2. Parental satisfaction was significantly correlated with PSOC (p =.003 for sample 1, p < 0.01 for sample 2) and with dentists' estimation of parental satisfaction (p < 0.001 for sample 1, p < 0.01 for sample 2). Discussion – The 11-item questionnaire was found to be valid and reliable and can be used to assess satisfaction with knee-to-knee positions among different populations. Parents of toddlers are satisfied with this examination position, especially those with a greater sense of parental competence.