BackgroundOral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) research among children and adolescents in Lithuania is just starting and no measures have been validated to date. Therefore, this study aimed to validate a Lithuanian version of the full (37 items) Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11–14) within a random sample of children aged 11 to 14.MethodsA cross-sectional survey among a randomly selected sample of schoolchildren (N = 307) aged 11 to14 was conducted. An anonymous questionnaire included the full CPQ11–14 and items on global life satisfaction, oral health and oral life quality self-rating. The questionnaire was translated into Lithuanian using translation guidelines. In addition, an item on the oral pain was modified identifying the pain location. Standard tests (Cronbach’s α, construct validity and discriminant validity), supplemented with both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, were employed for psychometric evaluation of the instrument. The questionnaire was also tested by comparison students’ and their parents’ (N = 255) responses about oral symptoms and functional limitations.ResultsThe modified Lithuanian version of CPQ11–14 revealed good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale was 0.88). The measure showed significant associations with perceived oral health status and oral well-being, as well as with global life satisfaction (p < 0.01). Discriminant validity of the instrument was approved by comparison of children’s groups defined by self-reported caries experience and malocclusion. Factor analysis revealed a complex structure with two or three factors in each of four domains of the CPQ11–14. Excellent or acceptable levels of indices of model fitting with the given data were obtained for oral symptoms, functional limitations and emotional well-being domains, but not for the social well-being domain. A significant association between child and parental responses was found (intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.56 and 0.43, correspondingly in domains of oral symptoms and functional limitations).ConclusionThe Lithuanian version of the CPQ11–14 (with a modified item that identifies location of oral pain) appears to be a valid instrument to be used in further studies for measuring OHRQoL among 11 to 14 year old children in Lithuania.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12903-018-0701-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

SUMMARY There is lack of consensus with respect to the preferred surgical procedure for the treatment of palatally impacted maxillary canines. The aim of this study was to evaluate post-treatment periodontal status of palatally impacted canines treated by open technique with free eruption and closed flap technique and compare it with naturally erupted canines. The subjects comprised 43 patients treated for unilateral palatally impacted maxillary canines and examined 4.19±1.44 months (3-6 months) after removal of the fixed appliance. The group 1 comprised subjects treated by open technique with free eruption (n = 22) and group 2 by closed technique (n = 21). Post-treatment examination comprised periodontal and radiographic examination. There were no significant intergroup differences with respect to periodontal pocket depth or bone support. However, compared with contralateral quadrants with normally erupted canines, quadrants with impacted canines exhibited significant bone loss at the distal contact point of the lateral incisor and the mesial contact point of the canine. The duration of treatment was 28.41±4.96 months for group 1 and 32.19±11.73 months for group 2 (P > 0.05). The mean treatment time required to achieve eruption/extrusion of the impacted canine was 3.05±1.07 months for group 1 and 6.86±4.53 months (P < 0.01) for group 2. It is concluded that choice of surgical method is not associated with any significant differences in post-treatment periodontal status of palatally impacted canines and adjacent teeth.

Objective: To investigate the family structure and affluence-related inequality in adolescent eating behaviour. Design: Multivariate binary logistic regression and path analyses were employed to evaluate the impact of family structure and affluence on the consumption of fruits, vegetables, sweets and soft drinks among adolescents. Setting: The cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in 2013/2014 across forty-one countries. Participants: Adolescents aged 11–15 years old (n 192 755). Results: Adolescents from a non-intact family were less likely to eat daily fruits (OR 0·82; 95 % CI 0·80, 0·84), vegetables (OR 0·91; 95 % CI 0·89, 0·93) and sweets (OR 0·96; 95 % CI 0·94, 0·99), but were more likely to consume soft drinks (OR 1·14; 95 % CI 1·11, 1·17), compared with their counterparts from an intact family. Adolescents who had the lowest family affluence scores (FAS) were less likely to eat daily fruits (OR 0·51; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·53), vegetables (OR 0·58; 95 % CI 0·56, 0·60) and sweets (OR 0·94; 95 % CI 0·90, 0·97), but were more likely to consume soft drinks (OR 1·25; 95 % CI 1·20, 1·30), compared with their counterparts who had the highest FAS. Across countries, a wide range of social inequality in daily consumption of foods was observed. Conclusions: Among adolescents in Europe, Canada and Israel, there was a high level of family structure and family affluence inequalities in daily food consumption. Different aspects of family socio-economic circumstances should be considered at the national level designing effective interventions to promote healthy eating among adolescents.

The aim was to examine the relationship between orthodontic treatment need and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) among Lithuanian adolescents aged 11–18 across gender and age groups. A representative cross-sectional study of 911 adolescents aged 11–18 (mean (M) = 15.53; Standard Deviation (SD) = 1.52) was conducted in 26 public schools. The schoolchildren completed the Child Perceptions Questionnaire to evaluate their OHRQoL. The Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) was used to evaluate the severity of malocclusion. The strength of association between variables was evaluated via negative binomial regression estimating the ratio of sum score means (RSSM). A worse OHRQoL score was associated with a higher grade of IOTN; however, only the Emotional and Social wellbeing domains were significantly affected by malocclusion (RSSM = 1.158; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.083–1.237 and RSSM = 1.205; 95% CI: 1.114–1.304, respectively). The significant association was identified only among females (RSSM = 1.264; 95% CI: 1.176–1.359). A significant association was observed in all age groups for Emotional and Social well-being domains but only in the oldest age group for Oral Symptoms and Functional Limitations domains. Conclusions: Malocclusion has a negative impact on the OHRQoL of young people with emotional and social aspects being the most affected. Girls and older adolescents suffered from malocclusion more than boys and their younger counterparts.

Background: This study aims to explore the extent to which the perceived oral conditions predict adolescent global life satisfaction (GLS); Methods: The sample in a cross-sectional survey consisted of 1510 Lithuanian adolescents (41.7% boys) aged 11–18. The survey was conducted by means of self-report questionnaires that were administrated in school classrooms ensuring confidentiality and anonymity of the participants. The schoolchildren rated their GLS and answered the questions about perceptions of their oral health. The relationship between GLS and oral health variables was estimated using unadjusted and adjusted binary logistic regression and nonparametric correlation analyses; Results: The research showed that the majority of adolescents rated their GLS highly; however, girls, older adolescents and adolescents from less affluent families were less likely to report high scores. GLS was significantly associated with subjective overall oral health assessment. The odds of reporting low GLS were 50% higher for adolescents with good oral health (OR = 1.51; p < 0.001; 95% CI = 1.18–1.93), and two and half time as higher for adolescents with perceived fair/poor oral health (OR = 2.78; p < 0.001; 95% CI = 1.72–4.50) compared to adolescents with subjectively excellent/very good oral health. Nonparametric correlations indicated lower GLS to be significantly associated with higher scores of Child Perceptions Questionnaire (𝜌 = −0.17/−0.30; p < 0.01); Conclusions: Adolescents with oral health impairments more likely to report lower GLS, regardless of their gender and age.