Children with orofacial clefts : dental caries and health-related quality of life

Abstract

Background. The current understanding on caries and enamel developmental defects prevalence and frequency, caries risk, health-related quality life (HRQoL) and stress response in young children with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) are sparse. In this thesis these aspects were investigated in 5-and 10-year-old children with CL/P in comparison to non-cleft children in the same ages.

Salivary Cortisol Rhythms in Children With Cleft Lip and/or Palate

“…In our study, no statistical significant difference could be seen between children with CL/P internationally adopted and the rest of the children with CL/P, comparing cortisol concentrations in saliva. Proxy-rated HRQoL dimensions “moods and emotions,” “parent relation and home life,” and “social support and peers” were significantly lower in our 5-year-olds adopted children from China with CL/P compared to the rest of the children with CL/P, without affecting the result for the total group of children with CL/P and controls (Sundell, 2016b). Lower score in the dimension “parent relation and home life” can be interpreted as adoptees with CL/P feel alone, overlooked, not appreciated, and perceives parents as unavailable/unfair more often than the rest of the children with CL/P (Ravens-Sieberer et al, 2006).…”

“…HRQoL evaluated using KIDSCREEN-52 did not differ in any of the 10 dimensions or in mean general overall T values between children with CL/P and controls in the 2 age groups (Sundell 2016b, Sundell et al 2017). Five-year-old girls with CL/P had higher scores in the dimension “moods and emotions” compared to boys with CL/P.…”

“…No other gender differences were found. When 5-year-old children with CL/P adopted from China and the rest of the children with CL/P were compared, significant difference were seen in the dimensions, “mood and emotions” ( P < .00), “parents relations and home life” ( P < .00), and “social support and peers” ( P = .02) (Sundell, 2016b).…”