Abstract
BackgroundThe findings that not only dental caries but also systemic disease can exert a negative effect on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and that dental treatment can improve OHRQoL have been confirmed in multiple studies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of dental treatment on OHRQoL of Korean pediatric patients and the differences in OHRQoL between patients with and without systemic disease.MethodsAll the primary caregivers of pediatric patients who underwent dental treatments under either general anesthesia or intravenous deep sedation at Seoul National University Dental Hospital completed abbreviated versions of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP-14) and Family Impact Scale (FIS-12) surveys on OHRQOL pre- and post-treatment (average: 2.4 ± 1.7 months after dental treatment). This is a case control study with patients divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of systemic disease.ResultsData from 93 pediatric patients (46 male and 47 female, average patient age: 5.0 ± 3.4 years) were analyzed to compare OHRQoL before and after treatment with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and to calculate the effect size using Cohen’s d. All of the patients exhibited an improvement in OHRQoL (COHIP-14: p < 0.001, effect size = 1.0; FIS-12: p < 0.001, effect size = 0.7). Patients with systemic diseases demonstrated lower OHRQoL in both pre- and post-treatment surveys than patients without systemic diseases (Wilcoxon Rank-sum test, both COHIP-14 and FIS-12: p < 0.05). The COHIP-14 appears to have a greater impact on the FIS-12 in patients with systemic disease than those without (explanatory power of 65.3 and 44.6%, respectively).ConclusionsBased on the primary caregivers’ perceptions, dental treatment can improve the OHRQoL in Korean pediatric patients. Systemic disease results in a reduced OHRQoL, and the awareness of patients’ oral health appeared to have a greater impact on OHRQoL for family members of patients with a systemic disease.Trial registrationKCT0002473 (Clinical Research Information Service, Republic of Korea) and 22 Sep 2017, retrospectively registered.
Highlights
The findings that dental caries and systemic disease can exert a negative effect on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and that dental treatment can improve OHRQoL have been confirmed in multiple studies
The only study that has conducted a full-scale reliability and validity test in Korea was reported by Ahn et al, in which a Korean version of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) was used in 2236 children and adolescents aged 8−15 years [4]
Five professors who were all experienced in general anesthesia and intravenous sedation in the pediatric dentistry department conducted all the dental treatments, and standardized treatment protocols were followed
Summary
The findings that dental caries and systemic disease can exert a negative effect on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and that dental treatment can improve OHRQoL have been confirmed in multiple studies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of dental treatment on OHRQoL of Korean pediatric patients and the differences in OHRQoL between patients with and without systemic disease. Dental caries is the most common chronic oral disease, with a high prevalence in children and adolescents worldwide [1]. Research about the OHRQoL of pediatric patients in Korea has only recently been initiated despite the high prevalence of dental caries. The only study that has conducted a full-scale reliability and validity test in Korea was reported by Ahn et al, in which a Korean version of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) was used in 2236 children and adolescents aged 8−15 years [4]
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