Mendes, José JoãoSantos, RuiLyra, PatríciaDelgado, Ana SintraMachado, VanessaBotelho, JoãoProença, Luís2026-05-062026-05-062025-09Mendes JJ, Santos R, Lyra P, Delgado AS, Machado V, Botelho J and Proença L (2025) Development and evaluation of a new multidimensional oral health indicator. Front. Oral Health 6:1634245. doi: 10.3389/froh.2025.16342452673-4842http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/62996Aim: To develop a new multidimensional oral health indicator (MOHi) to ascertain and characterize overall oral health status. Materials and Methods: MOHi was developed using data from first-time patients (N = 1,034) attending a university dental clinic over an 18-month period. Participants completed the Oral Health Value Scale (OHVS), the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) and self-reported periodontal status questionnaires. Caries experience through Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index, was combined with radiographs. MOHi was built as a linear combination of the normalized OHVS, OHIP-14 and DMFT scores, in a continuous scale from 0 to 3, with higher scores representing a more degraded oral health condition. MOHi was evaluated according to sociodemographic, behavioral characteristics, and periodontal self-reported status. We compared MOHi mean values with t- Student's test and ANOVA one-way. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression methodologies modelled MOHi and identified significant predictors. Model performance was evaluated by ROC/AUC analysis.engoral health related quality of life (OHRQOL)dental cariesperiodontitisoral health valuepatient reported clinical outcomescontribution to journal10.3389/froh.2025.1634245