Impact of traumatic dental injuries and malocclusions on quality of life of preschool children: a population‐based study

Abstract

Few studies assessed the impact of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and malocclusions on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in preschool children. To assess the impact of the presence of TDI and malocclusions, as well as its severity and types, respectively, on the OHRQoL of preschool children. The study was conducted in 1215 children aged 1-4years old who attended the National Day of Children Vaccination in Diadema, Brazil. Parents answered the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS) and socio-demographic conditions. Calibrated dental examiners performed the oral examinations for TDI and malocclusions. Poisson regression models adjusted by dental caries associated the clinical and socio-demographic conditions with the outcome. The multivariate adjusted models showed associations between some individual domains of the B-ECOHIS and clinical and socio-demographic conditions (P<0.05). The severity of TDI showed a negative impact on the symptoms domain and self-image/social interaction domain (P<0.05). Children with complicated TDI were more likely to experience a negative impact on total B-ECOHIS scores (PR=2.10; P=0.048). The presence of complicated TDI and dental caries were associated with worse OHRQoL of Brazilian preschool children, whereas malocclusions do not.