Impact of untreated dental caries on oral health-related quality of life of children with special health care needs

Abstract: The oral health status of children with special health care needs (SHCN) can affect their quality of life wich domains of the Brazilian version of the Early Childohood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS). A cross-sectional study was conducted in children with SHCN (aged 1 to 9 years), who underwent an oral examination for the assessment of dental caries severity. Parents/caregivers answered two questionnaires, one on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) - B-ECOHIS, and one on socioeconomic characteristics. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Poisson regression, Point-biserial correlation coefficient, and Cronbach's alpha. A total of 128 children participated in the study and OHRQoL was affected in 68.75% of them. The function domain in the Child Impact Section (CIS) had a higher mean value. Caries severity was associated with worse quality of life (p=0.001). Severe dental caries was associated with a negative impact on the OHRQoL of disabled children and of their families. The impact of untreated dental caries and severity of dental caries was associated with the CIS domains (except for the self-image/social interaction domain).

摘要：特殊医疗需求儿童（Special Health Care Needs, SHCN）的口腔健康状况可影响其生活质量，该影响可通过巴西版幼儿口腔健康影响量表（Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale, B-ECOHIS）的各维度进行评估。本研究针对1至9岁的特殊医疗需求儿童开展横断面研究，对所有受试者进行口腔检查以评估龋齿严重程度。家长/照料者需填写两份问卷：其一为口腔健康相关生活质量（Oral Health-Related Quality of Life, OHRQoL）问卷——即上述B-ECOHIS量表，其二用于收集社会经济特征相关信息。本研究采用科尔莫戈罗夫-斯米尔诺夫检验（Kolmogorov-Smirnov test）、曼-惠特尼U检验（Mann-Whitney U-test）、泊松回归、点二列相关系数以及克朗巴赫α系数（Cronbach's alpha）开展统计学分析。本研究共纳入128名儿童，其中68.75%的儿童口腔健康相关生活质量受到负面影响。儿童影响维度（Child Impact Section, CIS）中的功能维度得分均值更高。龋齿严重程度与较差的生活质量显著相关（p=0.001）。重度龋齿与残疾儿童及其家庭的口腔健康相关生活质量受到负面影响存在关联。未治疗龋齿的存在及其严重程度与儿童影响维度的各子维度均存在关联（自我形象/社会互动维度除外）。