Abstract
Dental caries is a public health problem that impacts oral health related to quality of life (OHRQoL). This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of dental caries in children by associating clinical and socio-dental indicators. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 2 to 6-year-old children who attended public day care centers in a city in the Southeast Region of Brazil. After sample calculation, 446 children were randomly selected by eligibility criteria. Two professionals evaluated dental caries using WHO (2013) criteria and classified subjects according to early childhood caries (ECC) severity. Parents/care- givers answered a characterization questionnaire and self-reported socio-dental indicator (B-ECO-HIS). The prevalence of dental caries was 33.7%. The children with high severity of ECC had 5 times higher chance of suffering an impact on OHRQoL. The one way ANOVA test showed that the impact on OHRQoL (ECOHIS scores) was associated with ECC. The outcome dental caries in oral health presented high prevalence as clinical indicator and high impact on OHRQoL as socio dental indicator. Clinical and socio-dental indicators should be evaluated together.
Highlights
Material and methodsQuality of life (QoL) is considered as an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns[1]
With the need to evaluate oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), the use of socio-dental indicators has been postulated to supplement the information obtained by traditional clinical indicators
According to the variables analyzed, mean age and children older than 37 months were related with early childhood caries (ECC) severity (p < 0.001)
Summary
Material and methodsQuality of life (QoL) is considered as an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns[1]. Clinical indicators are used, such as dmft/DMFT (decayed, missing and filled) or CPI (Community Periodontal Index) scores, to evaluate the state of oral health by the presence or absence and severity of caries and periodontal diseases. These indicators do not have the ability to measure how much the disease affects the individual’s life[3]. Socio-dental indicators are instruments that are able to measure, explicitly and systematically, social and psychological dimensions of oral health[4]
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