Impact of oral health on the quality of life of schoolchildren in a city in southern Brazil: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the quality-of-life scores of schoolchildren in a city in southern Brazil and to verify the associated factors. This cross-sectional study included the population of all 207 students enrolled, aged between 9 and 15 years. Clinical examinations were performed using the DMFT index for dental caries. Information was also collected from a self-applied questionnaire composed of questions on the quality of life (QOL) and the perception and satisfaction with oral health. The assessment was performed with the short form of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11–14) distributed in domains: oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional well-being, and social well-being. Descriptive analyses and univariate and multivariate regressions were performed for data analysis, estimating odds ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals in a logistic regression model. Toothache influenced the lowest QOL scores (63.5%). It was observed that the schoolchildren with toothache over the last six months had 2.9 (95% CI 1.61–4.62) times more likely to present low QOL scores. The findings of the present study showed that toothache affected QOL negatively.