PERCEPTION ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE RELATED TO ORAL HEALTH IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

Introduction: To evaluate the quality of life related to oral health is of paramount importance, since there are few studies evaluating the OHRQoL (Oral health related quality of life) in children of 5 and 6 years. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of caries disease and traumatic dental injuries (TDI) on oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) in children of 5 and 6 years of age according to the self report and the secondary report of the parents, as well as ascertain the agreement between them. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 238 children and their caregivers attended at health units and public schools in the municipality of Jequié (BA), Brazil. After an interview, the children were submitted to oral clinical examination to investigate the presence or absence of caries experience and TDI. For data collection, the Scale of Oral Health Outcomes for 5-year-old children (BSOHO-5) and a sociodemographic questionnaire were used. Differences in OHRQoL
scores between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were compared using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The agreement of the responses between children and parents was compared using Kappa statistics (> 0.60). The difference between the total scores of the children and the parents was examined with the Wilcoxon test; the Lin coefficient of agreement and the Bland and Altman method were used as measures of agreement. A significance level of 5% ( = 0.05) was adopted. Results:There was a significant association (p< 0.05) between caries and TDI with OHRQoL according to the children’s perception. There was significant mismatch / mismatch between the reports of the child-father and the motherchild
pairs in relation to the child’s OHRQoL. Conclusion: Caries disease and TDIs have a negative impact on OHRQoL according to the perception of only the children. Research has pointed out that parents are not reliable sources for assessing their child’s OHRQoL.