Impacto das alterações bucais na qualidade de vida de pré-escolares em Campina Grande PB

Abstract

Oral diseases are highly prevalent in pre-school age children. In order to develop new health policies, it becomes essential to determine the impact of these conditions on the child s functional and psychosocial features. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of oral health problems on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children aged three to five years and of their families, as well as to assess the influence of such problems on parental guilt. METHODS: This was a randomized cross-sectional study comprising a random sample of 843 preschool children aged between three and five years assisted in public and private pre-schools in the city of Campina Grande, PB, Brazil. Parents/guardians answered the Brazilian Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS) and a questionnaire on sociodemographic data and health perception. Clinical examination was performed by three calibrated examiners, who achieved good intra-examiner (k= 0.85-0.90) and interexaminer

(0.83-0.88) agreement levels and were used diagnostic criteria for dental caries, traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and malocclusion already established in the literature. The hierarchical Poisson regression was used to identify associations between the independent variables and OHRQoL according to the levels of analysis (α = 5%). RESULTS: The frequency of negative impact of oral health problems on OHRQoL was 32.1% among children and 26.2% among families. The variables oldest child (PR= 1.430, 95%CI: 1.045-1.958), parent s/caregiver s perception of child s oral health as poor (PR= 1.732, 95%CI: 1.399-2.145), cavitated lesions (PR= 2.596; 95%CI: 1.9823.400) and TDI (PR= 1.413, 95%CI: 1.161-1.718) were significantly associated with the

children s OHRQoL; while parent s/caregiver s perception of child s oral health as poor

(PR=

2.116, 95%CI: 1.624-2.757), cavitated lesions (PR= 2.809, 95%CI: 2.009-3.926) and type of TDI (PR= 2.448, 95%CI: 1.288-4.653) were significantly associated with the family s OHRQoL. Parental guilt was identified in 22.8 % of the sample and was associated with parent s/caregiver s perception of child s oral health as poor (PR= 1.980, 95%CI: 1.479-2.649), history of toothache (PR= 2.427, 95%CI: 1.812-3.251), cavitated lesions (PR= 2.012, 95%CI: 1.397-2.896) and type of TDI (PR= 1.951, 95%CI: 1.099-3.461). CONCLUSION: Cavitated lesions and TDI cause negative impact on OHRQoL of the preschool children and their families. Also, the parents of children with these conditions were found to feel guiltier. Moreover, parent s/caregiver s perception of child s oral health as poor and birth order were predictors for a greater impact on quality of life.