The influence of oral health conditions, socioeconomic status and home environment factors on schoolchildren's self-perception of quality of life

Abstract

BackgroundThe objective this study was to investigate the influence of clinical conditions, socioeconomic status, home environment, subjective perceptions of parents and schoolchildren about general and oral health on schoolchildren's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL).MethodsA sample of 515 schoolchildren, aged 12 years was randomly selected by conglomerate analysis from public and private schools in the city of Juiz de Fora, Brazil. The schoolchildren were clinically examined for presence of caries lesions (DMFT and dmft index), dental trauma, enamel defects, periodontal status (presence/absence of bleeding), dental treatment and orthodontic treatment needs (DAI). The SiC index was calculated. The participants were asked to complete the Brazilian version of Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) and a questionnaire about home environment. Questions were asked about the presence of general diseases and children's self-perception of their general and oral health status. In addition, a questionnaire was sent to their parents inquiring about their socioeconomic status (family income, parents' education level, home ownership) and perceptions about the general and oral health of their school-aged children. The chi-square test was used for comparisons between proportions. Poisson's regression was used for multivariate analysis with adjustment for variances.ResultsUnivariate analysis revealed that school type, monthly family income, mother's education, family structure, number of siblings, use of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs in the family, parents' perception of oral health of schoolchildren, schoolchildren's self perception their general and oral health, orthodontic treatment needs were significantly associated with poor OHRQoL (p < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, variables were included in a Multivariate Poisson regression. It was found that the variables children's self perception of their oral health status, monthly family income, gender, orthodontic treatment need, mother's education, number of siblings, and household overcrowding showed a strong negative effect on oral health-related quality of life.ConclusionsIt was concluded that the clinical, socioeconomic and home environment factors evaluated exerted a negative impact on the oral health-related quality of life of schoolchildren, demonstrating the importance of health managers addressing all these factors when planning oral health promotion interventions for this population.

Dental markers of poverty: Biocultural deliberations on oral health of the poor in mid‐nineteenth‐century Ireland

“…In addition to causing pain and discomfort, tooth decay can expose a tooth to further infection, and several clinical studies have reported a positive correlation with an increased mortality risk in individuals with poor oral health (Jansson, Lavstedt, & Frithiof, 2002; Kim, Baker, Davarian, & Crimmings, 2013). A significant relationship has also been demonstrated between poor oral health and low socioeconomic status in numerous modern studies across the world (Chandra Shekar & Reddy, 2011; Dye & Thornton‐Evans, 2010; Hobdell et al, 2003; Park, Han, Park, & Ko, 2016; Paula et al, 2012). It is clear from the current study that the poor in mid‐nineteenth‐century Ireland also suffered from oral health problems.…”

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

“…6,7,8,12,13,14,21,24 Moreover, our results bring new evidence of the long-term effects of caries treatment on the OHRQoL of schoolchildren aged 8 to 10 years. Although other studies have demonstrated improvements in children's OHRQoL after dental treatment, they generally have focused on outcomes in younger children using the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS), Child-Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (Child-OIDP), the Parental-Caregivers Perception Questionnaire (P-CPQ), 17,25,26,27 and research in which treatment was proposed for early childhood caries under general anesthesia.…”

“…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.…”

“…14,15,16,17,18 Most studies comparing OHRQoL scores between children with and without dental caries have a cross-sectional design, which refrains them from determining the causal relationship between an intervention and an outcome. 6,7,13,18 Besides, studies monitoring the OHRQoL after restorative treatment for caries are limited to a 6-month follow-up period, and other studies assessing the impact of interventions for a longer time are thus needed. 14,15,16,17 Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term effects of the caries treatment provided by a dental care program on changes in schoolchildren's OHRQoL.…”

Self-perception of sexual life and associated factors: a population study conducted in women aged 50 or more years

“…In these circumstances, self-perception may be useful in explaining behavior and interpreting experiences, as well as for predicting future issues 14 . Such observations would generate useful data, as it has already been shown in a variety of situations 15,16 .…”