Impact of traumatic dental injuries among adolescents on family's quality of life: a population‐based study

Abstract

To evaluate the impact of traumatic dental injury (TDI) among Brazilian adolescents on their families' quality of life (QoL). A cross-sectional study was carried out with a population-based sample of 1122 schoolchildren aged 11-14 years selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Parents/caregivers answered the Brazilian version of the 14-item Family Impact Scale (B-FIS) to assess the impact on family's QoL. The main independent variable was TDI, which was diagnosed using the Andreasen classification. Malocclusion, dental caries, gender and socio-economic classification were the other independent variables. Poisson regression analyses were carried out (P<0.05). The prevalence of TDI was 14.8%. The multivariate model demonstrated that families of adolescents diagnosed with fracture involving the dentine or dentine/pulp were more likely to report a negative impact on the overall B-FIS score [rate ratio (RR)=1.44; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10-1.88] as well on the Parental/Family Activity (RR=1.45; 95% CI: 1.09-1.94), Parental Emotions (RR=1.45; 95% CI: 1.03-2.04) and Family Conflict (RR=1.46; 95% CI: 1.01-2.11) subscales in comparison with those who had no signs of TDI. Families of adolescents with more severe TDI were more likely to report a negative impact on QoL, affecting family activities and emotions, which can result in family conflicts.