https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8762-2467
Abstract
Purpose
Dental treatment has been associated with improvement in the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in children. There is little evidence of whether the effect of treatment is sustainable over time or not. The aim of this study was to determine whether the effect of dental treatment on OHRQoL is maintained or diminishes over time.
Materials and Methods
A consecutive sample of parents of 47 children between 2 and 6 years who received comprehensive dental treatment at a postgraduate dental clinic were recruited. Parents completed the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) prior to treatment and at 1 and 4 months after treatment. Parents were also asked three global questions. Score changes (overall and for each section) between time points were analyzed by a repeated-measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni tests.
Results
The children’s mean age was 4.7 ± 1.1, and 60% were females. ECOHIS scores were significantly improved from baseline (22.2 ± 6.9) to 1 month after treatment (8.7 ± 6.8) and were further improved at 4 months after treatment (1.9 ± 2.7), P < 0.001, with large effect sizes (2.8 for the child impact section and 2.2 for the family impact section). Parents’ perception of changes in the OHRQoL of their children obtained from a global question indicated an improvement in OHRQoL that was sustained over the follow-up period; at 1-month and 4-month follow-up, 89% and 94% of mothers reported that their child’s oral health improved a lot after dental treatment, respectively.
Conclusion
The impact of dental treatment on OHRQoL continued to remarkably improve during the 4 months following dental treatment.
Abbreviations
ECC, Early childhood caries; OHRQoL, oral health-related quality of life; ECOHIS, Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale; CPQ, Child Perceptions Questionnaire; KAUFD, King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Dentistry; CIS, child impact section; FIS, family impact section.
Data Sharing Statement
Data will be provided upon reasonable request.
Ethics Approval
This study was approved by the ethics committee at King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Dentistry (KAUFD) (#036-13).
Acknowledgments
This project was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Fund G523-165-1441). The authors acknowledge with thanks the technical and financial support of the DSR.
Author Contributions
NJF contributed to the conception of the idea, performed the statistical analysis and interpreted the data, participated in writing the manuscript, and critically revised and approved the manuscript. DJF conceived the idea, designed the study, drafted the questionnaire, drafted the manuscript, and wrote most sections of the manuscript, participated in data collection, critically revised and approved the manuscript. MBA contributed to the conception of the idea, collected the data, critically revised and approved the manuscript. NMF revised the questionnaire, designed the study, critically revised and approved the manuscript. AAE revised the questionnaire, designed the study, critically revised and approved the manuscript.
All authors made significant contributions to conception and design of the study, data collection, or statistical analysis and interpretation of results; took part in writing the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to this journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be responsible for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this work.