Association between oral conditions and functional limitations in childhood

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of oral conditions on functional limitations among preschoolers. A preschool-based, cross-sectional study was carried out with 843 preschoolers in Campina Grande, Brazil. Parents/caregivers answered a questionnaire addressing socio-demographic characteristics and perceptions regarding the general/oral health of their children as well as the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale. The nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann-Whitney test (α = 5%) was used to compare mean children's quality-of-life scores for each independent variable. Poisson regression analysis was used to test associations between the independent and dependent variables (difficulties eating, drinking and speaking) (α = 5%). The multivariate regression model involved a hierarchical approach with four levels (distal to proximal determinants): (i) socio-demographic aspects; (ii) health perceptions; (iii) oral conditions; and (iv) pain conditions. The prevalence of negative impact on function was 24.7% for eating/drinking and 8.0% for speaking. Significant associations were found between toothache and negative impact on eating/drinking (PR = 5.38; 95%CI: 3.20-9.02) as well as between high severity dental caries and negative impact on speaking (PR = 14.91; 95%CI: 1.98-112.32). Dental caries, traumatic dental injury and malocclusion were not significantly associated with a negative impact on eating or drinking. However, toothache was an indicator of negative impact on eating/drinking and dental caries severity was an indicator of negative impact on speaking.

Dental caries, but not malocclusion or developmental defects, negatively impacts preschoolers’ quality of life

“…Dental caries is the most prevalent oral disease in primary dentition, affecting approximately 50% of preschoolers 1 . This oral disease causes a negative impact on oral healthrelated quality of life (OHRQoL), and the most frequent consequences are impaired chewing and speech, sleep disturbances, irritability psychological problems, such as sleep disturbances, irritability and pain [2][3][4][5][6] .…”

Non-clinical factors and predictors of self-ratings of oral health among young adolescents in a rural Nigerian population

“…This finding has been corroborated by others 29 who reported the impact pain has on subjective assessment of oral health. Pain is a significant factor that impacts negatively on the quality of life of individuals 30 . In addition, adolescents' perception of oral health has been defined as presence or absence of disease or pain 31 .…”

Perception of parents and self‐reports of children regarding the impact of traumatic dental injury on quality of life

“…Pairs of children and caregivers were then selected from each school using a simple random sampling procedure. The sample size was calculated based on a 5% margin of error, 95% confidence interval and 1.6 correction factor for the design effect . A prevalence rate of 50% was used to obtain the largest possible sample and to increase the power of the study.…”