The relationship between untreated dental caries and quality of life in children aged 6-12 years at elementary school 060970 belawan

Abstract

Dental caries is a common oral health problem that occurs in all age groups, especially in children. Untreated dental caries can lead to several issues such as pulpitis, ulceration, fistula, abscess, and pulp necrosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between untreated dental caries and quality of life, as well as the most affected domain of quality of life in children aged 8-10 years at Primary School 060970 Belawan in 2023. This was an analytical survey with a cross-sectional design to investigate the association between untreated dental caries measured using the pufa index and the quality of life of children aged 6-12 years using the Child’s Perception Questionnaire 8-10 (CPQ8-10). The subjects of this study were students aged 6-12 years at Primary School 060970 Belawan, selected using total sampling technique where the entire population was included as samples. The study began with oral examinations to determine deft/DMFT and pufa/PUFA scores. Subsequently, interviews were conducted with the respondents to collect data on their quality of life. Data analysis was performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality, which showed that the data were not normally distributed. Spearman correlation test (r=0.600) revealed a significant positive relationship between untreated dental caries and quality of life (p=0.000) with a strong correlation. The social limitations domain of quality of life (r=0.595) was found to be the most affected, indicating a strong association between untreated dental caries and quality of life. In conclusion, an increase in pufa scores is associated with an increase in quality of life scores. An increase in quality of life scores indicates a poor quality of life.