BackgroundOral disorders can have a negative impact on the functional, social and psychological wellbeing of young children and their families and cause pain/discomfort for the child. Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) has emerged as an important health outcome in clinical trials and healthcare research. The Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) is a proxy measure of children's OHRQoL designed to assess the negative impact of oral disorders on the quality of life of preschool children. The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the ECOHIS (B-ECOHIS).MethodsThis investigation was carried out in preliminary and field studies. The preliminary study comprised a cross-sectional study carried out in the city of Petropolis, Brazil. A sample of 150 children from two to five years of age was recruited at a public hospital. In the field study, an epidemiological survey was carried out in public and private preschools of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The B-ECOHIS was answered by 1643 parents/caregivers of five-year-old male and female preschool children. In both phases, oral examinations were performed by a single previously calibrated dentist. Reliability was determined through test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Validity was determined through convergent and discriminant validities. The correlation between the scores obtained on the child and family impact sections was assessed.ResultsIn the preliminary (P) and field (F) study, test-retest reliability correlation values were 0.98 and 0.99 for the child impact section and 0.97 and 0.99 for the family impact section, respectively. The B-ECOHIS demonstrated internal consistency: child impact section (P: α = 0.74; F: α = 0.80) and family impact section (P: α = 0.59; F: α = 0.76). The correlation between the scores obtained on the child and family impact sections was statistically significant (P: rs = 0.54; F: rs = 0.62; p ≤ 0.001). In both phases of the study, B-ECOHIS scores were significantly associated with the decayed, missing and filled teeth index, decayed teeth and discolored upper anterior teeth (p < 0.05).ConclusionThe B-ECOHIS proved reliable and valid for assessing the negative impact of oral disorders on the quality of life of preschool children.

Dental caries experience was the only normative criteria with a negative impact on OHRQoL. Families with low income and younger parents reported a greater impact on quality of life. According to parents' perceptions, a poor general health status rating was related to poorer quality of life among the children.

The presence of TDI in Brazilian preschool children has no impact on quality of life of the children or their families. However, tooth avulsion is associated with a negative impact on OHRQoL in both groups, and tooth discolouration is associated with a negative impact on family OHRQoL.