The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of dental injuries and the influence of determining factors in preschool children from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was carried out through clinical examinations and the application of a questionnaire to the parents of 419 children aged 0 to 5 years attending preschool. The sample was stratified by region, type of institution and age. The eighteen preschools visited were chosen randomly. The prevalence of traumatic injury to primary teeth was 39.1%. Enamel fractures were the most common traumatic injury (49.7%). Boys were 1.62 times more likely to have dental injuries than girls. Children with inadequate lip coverage were 3.75 times more likely to have a traumatic dental injury than those with adequate lip coverage. Children attending state preschools had nearly two times greater chances of having dental trauma than children attending private preschools. It was concluded that the prevalence of dental injuries in preschool children is high in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and constitutes a public health problem.

BackgroundTraumatic dental injury (TDI) could have physical and psychosocial consequences for children. Thus, it is important to measure the impact of TDI on the quality of life of children (QoL). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between treated/untreated TDI and the impact on the quality of life of 11-to-14-year-old Brazilian schoolchildren.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out involving 1612 male and female schoolchildren aged 11 to 14 years attending public and private elementary schools in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to select the children. Three calibrated examiners used the Andreasen classification for the diagnosis of TDI. Oral health-related quality of life was assessed using the Brazilian version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) - Impact Short Form (ISF:16), composed of 16 items and self-administered by all children. Other oral conditions (dental caries and malocclusion) and the Social Vulnerability Index were determined and used as controlling variables.ResultsTwo hundred nineteen children were diagnosed with untreated TDI and 64 were diagnosed with treated TDI. There were no statistically significant associations between untreated or treated TDI and overall CPQ11-14 (Fisher = 0.368 and Fisher = 0.610, respectively). Children with an untreated TDI were 1.4-fold (95% CI = 1.1-2.1) more likely to report impact on the item "avoided smiling/laughing" than those without TDI, whereas children with a treated TDI were twofold (95% CI = 1.1-3.5) more likely to report impact on the item "other children asked questions" than those without TDI.ConclusionsNeither treated nor untreated TDI was associated with oral symptoms, functional limitations or emotional wellbeing. However, children with a TDI in the anterior teeth experienced a negative impact on social wellbeing, mainly with regard to avoiding smiling or laughing and being concerned about what other people may think or say.

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Schoolchildren with malocclusion from lower-income families experience a greater negative impact on OHRQoL.

Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited chronic disease that is characterized by complications such as recurrent painful vaso-occlusive events that require frequent hospitalizations and contribute to early mortality. The objective of the study was to report on the initial measurement properties of the new PedsQL™ SCD Module for pediatric patient self-report ages 5-18 years and parent proxy-report for ages 2-18 years. Procedure The 43-item PedsQL™ SCD Module was completed in a multisite study by 243 pediatric patients with SCD and 313 parents. Participants also completed the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales and PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale. Results The PedsQL™ SCD Module Scales evidenced excellent feasibility, excellent reliability for the Total Scale Scores (patient self-report α = 0.95; parent proxy-report α = 0.97), and good reliability for the nine individual scales (patient self-report α = 0.69-0.90; parent proxy-report α = 0.83-0.97). Intercorrelations with the PedsQL™ Generic Core Scales and PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scales were medium (0.30) to large (0.50) range, supporting construct validity. PedsQL™ SCD Module Scale Scores were generally worse for patients with severe versus mild disease. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated an acceptable to excellent model fit. Conclusions The PedsQL™ SCD Module demonstrated acceptable measurement properties. The PedsQL™ SCD Module may be utilized in the evaluation of SCD-specific health-related quality of life in clinical research and practice. In conjunction with the PedsQL™ Generic Core Scales and the PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, the PedsQL™ SCD Module will facilitate the understanding of the health and well-being of children with SCD.