Brazilian dentists' knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards minimal intervention dentistry: development and psychometric analysis.

Abstract

To date, no instrument with demonstrated structural validity has been available to assess dentists' knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding the core concepts of Minimal Intervention Dentistry (MID). Therefore, this study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a self-administered instrument designed to measure Brazilian dentists' knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards MID. A cross-sectional study was conducted among dentists practicing in the Federal District of Brazil to evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument. Item generation was followed by expert review by Brazilian MID specialists. Subsequently, two focus groups and a pre-test were conducted to assess item wording, sequence, and comprehensibility. After the necessary revisions, the instrument was administered to 454 dentists. Exploratory Factor Analysis, combined with parallel analysis, was performed (p < 0.05). A total of 404 dentists comprised the final sample for the psychometric analyses. Parallel analysis indicated a two-factor solution as the most representative, corresponding to knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Composite reliability was adequate for all factors (≥ 0.40). The factorial structure showed acceptable model fit indices, except for the RMSEA (RMSEA = 0.092). Unidimensionality was rejected, as UniCo = 0.939 (0.907-0.975) and ECV = 0.762 (0.719-0.830) did not reach the recommended thresholds. The findings suggest that the instrument presents an appropriate structure and satisfactory reliability for measuring dentists' knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to MID. This is the first study in the field of MID competencies to comprehensively report the steps involved in constructing, adapting, and psychometrically evaluating an instrument for dentists.