The influence of normative and subjective oral health status on schoolchildren’s happiness

Abstract

BackgroundTraditional methods to measure oral health based on clinical standards are limited because they do not consider psychosocial and functional aspects of oral health. It has been recommended that these measures need to be supplemented by data obtained from patients regarding their individual perceptions on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Happiness is a multidimensional construct comprising both emotional and cognitive domains, and has been defined as “the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his or her life as a whole favorably”. It has been associated with several health outcomes, including oral health. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of oral health conditions, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and socioeconomic factors on the subjective happiness of Brazilian adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 on a representative sample of 12-year-old schoolchildren in Santa Maria-RS, Brazil. The data were collected through dental examinations and structured interviews. The participants underwent an evaluation aimed at detecting dental caries, traumatic dental injuries, malocclusion, and gingival bleeding. They also completed the Brazilian versions of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire-short form (CPQ11–14 – ISF: 16) and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), which was our outcome variable. Socioeconomic conditions were evaluated through a questionnaire that was completed by the participants’ parents. Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the association between the explanatory variables and the outcome. Moreover, a correlation analysis was performed to determine the relationship between the SHS scores and the overall and domain scores of the CPQ11–14 –ISF: 16.ResultsA total of 1,134 children were evaluated. Unadjusted analyses showed that happiness was associated with socioeconomic indicators, the use of dental services, clinical status, and scores on the OHRQoL measure. After adjustment, household overcrowding (RR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93-0.98), dental caries (RR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97-0.99), malocclusion (RR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99), and the severity associated with the CPQ11-14 (RR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.93-0.97) still showed a significant association with lower levels of the mean SHS score.ConclusionsHappiness is influenced by oral conditions, socioeconomic status, and OHRQoL.

Impact of a dental care program on the quality of life of children with and without caries

“…21 Originally drafted in Canada, the CPQ [8][9][10] has been translated and validated for use in other countries, including Brazil. 22 The questionnaire was self-administered in the school environment and it was used to evaluate the OHRQoL of the two groups.…”

“…22 The questionnaire was self-administered in the school environment and it was used to evaluate the OHRQoL of the two groups. 23 The CPQ [8][9][10] consists of 25 questions organized into four health domains: oral symptoms (OS) (n = 5), functional limitations (FL) (n = 5), emotional well-being (EWB) (n = 5), and social well-being (SWB) (n = 10). Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale to rate the impact of oral health status on a given aspect of quality of life (described by the item).…”

“…In addition to the 25 items of the CPQ [8][9][10] , global questions were assessed at baseline and follow-up to evaluate changes in OHRQoL. At baseline, the CPQ [8][9][10] asks global questions about subjective aspects of oral health (very good, good, fair, and poor).…”

“…3,4 Children and adolescents worldwide suffer from diverse oral problems, but dental caries remains the most prevalent oral disease, which is mediated by psychosocial determinants and has severe consequences for OHRQoL, happiness, and school performance. 5,6,7,8,9 Even though studies with this population have investigated the impact of OHRQoL related to orthodontic treatment, oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia, Declaration of Interests: The authors certify that they have no commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the manuscript.…”

“…A one-year follow-up was conducted with a sample of 372 children aged 8 to 10 years which were clinically examined and divided into two matched groups according to their caries experience: dental treatment group (DTG) and group without caries (GWC). Both groups were assessed three times (at baseline, at 4 weeks, and at 1 year) using the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ [8][9][10] ). The normality test was performed for the statistical analyses; the Friedman test was used for the dependent variables (longitudinal assessment repeated three times for the same group); and the Mann-Whitney test was used for the independent variables (test and control groups in each time period).…”