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Change in children's oral health‐related quality of life following dental treatment under general anaesthesia for the management of dental caries: a systematic review
Author(s) -
Knapp Rebecca,
Gilchrist Fiona,
Rodd Helen D.,
Marshman Zoe
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of paediatric dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.183
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1365-263X
pISSN - 0960-7439
DOI - 10.1111/ipd.12259
Subject(s) - medicine , oral health , data extraction , proxy (statistics) , population , dentistry , medline , quality of life (healthcare) , family medicine , pediatrics , environmental health , nursing , machine learning , political science , computer science , law
Background Dental caries has significant impact on children and their families and may necessitate treatment under general anaesthesia ( GA ). The use of oral health‐related quality‐of‐life ( OHRQ o L ) measures enables evaluation of dental treatment from a patient's perspective. Objective This systematic review aimed to assess change in OHRQ o L in children following treatment under GA for the management of dental caries. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted to identify articles which were assessed against inclusion criteria before data extraction. Studies involving children under 16 years, having treatment for dental caries under GA , were considered eligible. Included studies were quality assessed. Results Twenty studies were included, which demonstrated significant heterogeneity. Most studies employed a pre‐test–post‐test design. All but one study relied on proxy reports of OHRQ o L . Only half the studies used instruments validated in the study population. Whereas all studies reported improved OHRQ o L overall, some subscales showed changes which were not significant or worsened OHRQ o L . The scientific quality of the studies varied considerably. Conclusion Heterogeneity of included papers limited the conclusions which could be drawn. Treatment under GA appears to result in overall improvements in proxy‐reported OHRQ o L ; however, there is a need for further high‐quality studies employing validated, child‐reported measures of OHRQ o L .