Oral Hygiene Skill Achievement Index II.

The utility of any index depends on its validity, reliability, and administrative feasibility. The Oral Hygiene Skill Achievement Index (S.A.I.) was found to be a valid measure of oral hygiene skill in that registered dental hygienists received greater than 90% of the total possible points. The S.A.I. was found to have an initial reliability of r greater than or equal to 0.91 and a repeat reliability of r greater than or equal to 0.96. The S.A.I. requires less than 10 minutes to administer, 40 minutes to teach, and 1 hour and 40 minutes to learn. The results suggest that S.A.I. should be a useful instrument for both clinical and research use.