The oral health status of children with special health care needs (SHCN) can affect their quality of life wich domains of the Brazilian version of the Early Childohood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS). A cross-sectional study was conducted in children with SHCN (aged 1 to 9 years), who underwent an oral examination for the assessment of dental caries severity. Parents/caregivers answered two questionnaires, one on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL)-B-ECOHIS, and one on socioeconomic characteristics. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Poisson regression, Point-biserial correlation coefficient, and Cronbach's alpha. A total of 128 children participated in the study and OHRQoL was affected in 68.75% of them. The function domain in the Child Impact Section (CIS) had a higher mean value. Caries severity was associated with worse quality of life (p=0.001). Severe dental caries was associated with a negative impact on the OHRQoL of disabled children and of their families. The impact of untreated dental caries and severity of dental caries was associated with the CIS domains (except for the self-image/social interaction domain).
To evaluate the impact of dental caries among Brazilian individuals with special health care needs (SHCN) on their families' oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). A cross-sectional study was carried out with a population-based sample of 227 subjects who were enrolled from the ACOLHER-PNE project conducted at the Fluminense Federal University. Parents/caregivers answered the Brazilian version of the 14-item Family Impact Scale (B-FIS) to assess the impact on family's quality of life (QoL). The main independent variable was dental caries experience, diagnosed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The DMFT/dmft score was categorized into 0 = caries free; 1-2 = low; 3-4 = moderate; and ≥ 5 = high experience. Mother's schooling, age, sex, SHCN conditions, and socioeconomic factors were the other independent variables. QoL was measured through FIS domains and total score. Statistical analyses was performed using the Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests and Poisson regression (p<0.05). The impact values observed in moderate and high caries experience were significantly higher than those found in subjects without caries and low level of parental emotions. Parents' years of schooling showed more impact on total score and on parental emotions. Older subjects showed significantly higher impact on total score and in all domains. The multivariate model demonstrated that families of older subjects (> 8 years old) experience a higher impact level compared to younger subjects (PR: 2.43; 95%CI: 1.80-3.29, p = 0.001). High caries experience and other socioeconomic factors were not associated with a greater negative impact on parents' QoL.
<p><strong>Objective</strong>: The aim of this paper was to outline the profile of patients with special needs who sought treatment at School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal Fluminense (FO-UFF). <strong>Material and Methods:</strong> We evaluated the charts of 17 patients who sought care during the survey period. The variables were gender, age, reason for consultation, continuous use of psychotropic drugs, socioeconomic status, consumption of sugar, toothbrushing frequency, dental occlusion dental care and length of treatment. All patients were treated by two undergraduate students linked to the project under supervision. <strong>Results: </strong>The mean age of the patients was 9.65 years old and males were the most prevalent (52.94%). Individuals with mental retardation and Down´s syndrome were the predominant group seeking dental care (35,3%) and pain was cited as the main reason (58,82%). The average dmft 0.9 (±1,4) and DMFT was 3.29 (±7,07) among patients and restorative treatment was provided for 25% of the patients. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> In conclusion the greatest demand was for curative and not preventive procedures and that the prevalence of caries is high in this group of patients.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Dental caries; DMFT index; Intellectual disability.</p>
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