OBJECTIVETo develop the Chinese version of a face version of the modified child dental anxiety scale (MCDASf) and test the reliability and validity of MCDASf.

METHODSThe English version of MCDASf was translated and back-translated, as well as crosscultural adapted by the method of psychometrics to develop the Chinese version of MCDASf. Subsequently the Chinese version schedule was randomly investigated among 245 kindergarten children and school children aged greater than 4 and less than 12 years on two separate occasions 3 weeks apart to determine the reliability. A total of 248 children attending Pediatrics Dentistry of Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology aged greater than 4 and less than 12 years old were selected and completed the Chinese version of MCDASf and the Chinese version of modified Children's fear survey schedule-dental subscale (CFSS-DS) before treatment to determine the validity. Then we rated the children's behavior during dental treatment by Venham's clinical anxiety rating scale and cooperative behavior rating scale to evaluate the relation between self-assessed dental anxiety scores and the behavioral reaction during the dental treatment.

RESULTSIn reliability study, 98.0% of 250 children completed the MCDASf. In validity study, 99.2% of 248 children completed the MCDASf. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the translated scale was 0.814 and the test-retest reliability was 0.907. Principal component analysis of the translated scale confirmed that the scale consisted of a single unidimensional construct. The Chinese version of MCDASf significantly was correlated with the Chinese version of modified CFSS-DS (r = 0.843, P < 0.01) . It was also correlated with Venham's clinic anxiety rating scale and cooperative behavior rating scale (r = 0.675, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe Chinese version of MCDASf demonstrated good reliability and validity and can be used as a simple self-report measurement of dental anxiety in Chinese children aged 4-11 years.