Changes in the oral health‐related quality of life in children following comprehensive oral rehabilitation under general anaesthesia

Objectives To assess changes in the oral health‐related quality of life ( OHRQoL ), after comprehensive oral rehabilitation under general anaesthesia ( CORGA ), among children (i) <6 years using the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale ( ECOHIS ) and (ii) aged 6–14 years using the child oral health‐related quality of life ( COHRQoL ) instrument. Methods A total of 136 healthy children who had CORGA were recruited over a period of 12 months. The parent or caregiver of the study participants completed the age‐appropriate questionnaire prior to the dental treatment and at the subsequent follow‐up appointments (2 weeks and 3 months). Data were analysed using repeated‐measures anova and Bonferroni tests. Results The overall ECOHIS scores decreased significantly ( P < 0.001) demonstrating large effect sizes. The greatest decreases were for the domains of child oral symptoms (57.5%) and psychology (38.7%) in the child impact section ( CIS ) and for the domain of parental distress (38.9%) and family function (40%) in the family impact section ( FIS ). For COHRQoL , the overall P‐ CPQ and FIS scores decreased significantly for all items ( P < 0.001), demonstrating large effect sizes. The greatest decreases were for the domains of oral symptoms (77.7%), functional limitations (74.3%), and the FIS (80.1%). Conclusions The OHRQoL of children in both age groups (<6 and 6–14 years) was significantly improved after CORGA .