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Influence of initial caries lesions on quality of life in preschool children: a 2‐year cohort study
Author(s) -
Guedes Renata S.,
Ardenghi Thiago M.,
Piovesan Chaiana,
Emmanuelli Bruno,
Mendes Fausto M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/cdoe.12217
Subject(s) - medicine , poisson regression , cohort , oral health , carious lesion , confidence interval , epidemiology , cohort study , relative risk , quality of life (healthcare) , early childhood caries , dentistry , pediatrics , environmental health , population , nursing , enamel paint
Objectives We aimed to assess the impact of the presence of initial and other stages of dental caries on the impairment of oral health‐related quality of life in preschool children (COHRQoL) through a cohort study. Methods During an epidemiological survey, 478 children (12–59 months old) were examined for dental caries using the International Caries and Detection Assessment System (ICDAS), and their parents answered the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). Children were categorized based on the presence of dental caries as follows: children with no caries lesions, children with only initial lesions (ICDAS scores 1 and 2), children with at least one moderate lesion (ICDAS scores 3 and 4) and children with extensive lesions (ICDAS scores 5 and 6). After 2 years, 352 children were re‐examined for the presence of dentine cavitations, and their parents completed a new ECOHIS questionnaire. Multilevel Poisson regression analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of the presence of different stages of caries lesions at the baseline on COHRQoL impairment at the follow‐up, considering two outcome variables: worsening and severe worsening of COHRQoL. Relative risk values (RR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Results Worsening or severe worsening of the COHRQoL at the follow‐up were observed only in children with moderate lesions (RR = 2.00; 95% CI = 1.30–3.08 and RR = 2.38; 95% CI = 1.31–4.34, respectively) or children with extensive lesions (RR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.10–2.30 for worsening and RR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.13–3.12 for severe worsening). On the other hand, the presence of only initial caries lesions was not a significant predictor of COHRQoL impairment. Conclusions The presence of only initial caries lesions does not impair COHRQoL of preschool children; however, moderate and extensive lesions are risk factors for worsening of the COHRQoL.