The school social environment and oral health-related quality of life in children: a multilevel analysis

Impact of parental attributes on the oral health-related quality of life of Brazilian preschool children

PURPOSE

Considering the importance of parental attitudes and their influence on children's oral health, it is important to know which characteristics may impact it. The aim of this population study was to evaluate the impact of the parental sociodemographic characteristics on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children from southeastern Brazil.

METHODS

A population-based study was conducted with a sample of 321 children aged 2 to 5 years old who underwent a calibrated clinical oral examination to assess oral health status and their parents were asked to answer the two following questionnaires: (1) sociodemographic conditions and (2) Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS). Descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests and adjusted Poisson regression models were used.

RESULTS

Younger mothers (RP: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.11-1.95), lower household income (RP: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.11-1.96) and the presence of dental caries (RP: 2.28; 95% CI: 1.74-3.0) were more likely to have a negative impact on the OHRQoL B-ECOHIS total scores (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The characteristics of mothers, such as age, schooling and salary, influenced the mean B-ECOHIS total score; however, paternal attributes were not associated with a negative impact on the children's quality of life. Also, dental caries and household income influenced the children's oral health-related quality of life.

Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Risk factors for oral disease can potentially be ameliorated by school-based interventions. This review evaluates the effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health among children in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods

Our systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness. Medline, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL, Emcare, Scopus, Web of Science, WHO website, Google Advanced and Google Scholar were searched for experimental and observational studies published between 1995 and 2021 in English. Quality assessment and data extraction of the articles were performed by two independent reviewers. The primary outcome was decayed, missing, and filled teeth/surfaces [dmft(s)/DMFT(S)] scores. Seven meta-analyses were conducted.

Results

The search yielded 1178 publications and after removing duplicates, 753 remained. A further 648 publications were excluded after screening titles and abstracts. 105 publications were reviewed in full and 34 were included. Narrative synthesis showed school-based interventions had a positive effect on oral health outcomes. Meta-analysis showed a significant positive effect on dental caries measured by DMFT scores (standardised mean difference (SMD) =  − 0.33; 95% CI − 0.56 to − 0.10; P = 0.005), net increment in DMFS scores (SMD =  − 1.09; 95% CI − 1.91 to − 0.27; P = 0.009), dmft and DMFT/S score > 1 (Risk Ratio = 0.70; 95% CI 0.53 to 0.94; P = 0.02) and plaque scores (SMD =  − 0.32; 95% CI − 0.46 to − 0.18; P < 0.00001). Non-significant positive effect was observed for dental caries measured by net increment in DMFT scores (SMD =  − 0.34; 95% CI − 0.69 to 0.02; P = 0.06) and DMFS scores (SMD =  − 0.26; 95% CI − 0.70 to 0.18; P = 0.24), and gingival health (SMD = 0.12; 95% CI − 0.32 to 0.55; P = 0.60). Certainty of evidence was assessed as very low for all oral health outcomes.

Conclusion

School-based interventions can be effective in reducing the burden of oral disease among primary school children in LMICs, with skills-based education, teacher training, provision of access to oral health services and parental engagement emerging as particularly promising. Further research is required to provide evidence of effectiveness of primary school-based interventions to improve oral health.

Systematic review registration The title of this review was registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020202599).

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-022-02291-2.

Oral health-related quality of life of adolescents assessed with the Malocclusion Impact and Child Perceptions questionnaires

INTRODUCTION

Our study objectives were to evaluate the impact of malocclusion on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) of adolescents aged 11-14 years in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

METHODS

Two hundred adolescents completed the Child Perceptions Questionnaire: Impact Short Form (CPQ_11-14-ISF:16) and the Malocclusion Impact Questionnaire (MIQ). The Aesthetic Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need scale was used to determine malocclusion severity. The effect of sex, age, and socioeconomic class on OHRQOL were determined with the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, correlation tests, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS (version 22.0; IBM, Armonk, NY). Statistical significance was set at P <0.05.

RESULTS

The CPQ_11-14-ISF:16 and MIQ identified the impact of malocclusion on OHRQOL with mean (standard deviation) scores of 12.85 (10.17) and 8.33 (7.50), respectively. Sex, socioeconomic class, and malocclusion severity had no significant effect on OHRQOL (P >0.05); however, OHRQOL differed significantly between the age groups (CPQ_11-14-ISF:16, P = 0.002; MIQ, P = 0.041). Multiple regression analysis showed that age was a significant predictor of OHRQOL determined with CPQ_11-14-ISF:16 (standardized coefficients B score = -0.242, P = 0.001). MIQ demonstrated good criterion validity with CPQ_11-14-ISF:16 (r = 0.59, P <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Both measures CPQ_11-14-ISF:16 and MIQ identified the impact of malocclusion on the OHRQOL of adolescents. Sex, socioeconomic class, and malocclusion severity did not affect OHRQOL; however, age was a significant predictor of OHRQOL. Further studies among orthodontic patient populations are desirable.

Psychometric Analyses of the Indian (Hindi) Version of the Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ11-14)

The current research aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Hindi Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ_11-14) in a child population of India. A randomly selected sample of children aged 11-14 years (n = 331) and their parents completed the Hindi translation of CPQ_11-14 and the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ), respectively, in this cross-sectional study. Children also provided a self-rating of oral health and were examined for dental caries. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted to assess the dimensionality of the Hindi-CPQ_11-14. Internal consistency and reliability on repeated administration were evaluated. Convergent and divergent validities were determined by estimating correlation coefficients between items and the hypothesised subscales. Concurrent validity was assessed using multiple linear regression analyses. The four factors extracted in EFA had a total variance of 38.5%, comprising 31 items. Cronbach's alpha for the internal consistency of the overall scale was 0.90; reliability on repeated administration was 0.92. All the Hindi CPQ_11-14 items had an item-hypothesised subscale correlation coefficient of ≥0.4, and these were greater than item-other hypothesised subscale correlations, demonstrating good convergent and divergent validities respectively. Hindi-CPQ_11-14 was associated with self-ratings of the oral health and overall P-CPQ scores demonstrating good concurrent validity. Hindi-CPQ_11-14 showed a factor structure different from the English CPQ_11-14 and exhibited good validity and reliability.