Quality of life and aesthetic perception of dental caries

• Published in: Revista brasileira em promoção da saúde = Brazilian journal in health promotion Vol. 31; no. 1
• Main Authors: Vieira, Paula Reginne, Camila Maria Bullio Fragelli, Jeremias, Fabiano, Lourdes Aparecida Martins dos Santos-Pinto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Fortaleza Universidade de Fortaleza - Centro de Ciências da Saúde 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Children; Decay; Dental caries; Fluoridation; Oral hygiene; Perception; Quality of life; Regression analysis; Social factors; Statistical tests; Teeth
• ISSN: 1806-1222; 1806-1230
• DOI: 10.5020/18061230.2018.6649

Objetive: To relate the aesthetic perception and the oral health-related quality of life in the presence of dental caries in schoolchildren. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil, from October 2014 to March 2015, with 260 schoolchildren aged 8 to 10 years, divided into clinical groups according to the presence of dental caries. The Child Perceptions Questionnaire and the Child Questionnaire About Teeth Appearance were applied and a clinical evaluation of permanent and deciduous dentition was conducted for detection of decayed, missing or filled teeth. Data was analyzed using the chi-square test and Mann-Whitney’s test, p ≤ 0.05. Results: Of the 260 students, 130 (50%) had caries disease, with the highest frequency (62.0%) in 8-year-olds. Socioeconomic variables, such as lower family income and lower maternal schooling, were associated with the dental caries group (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). In the dental caries group, the domains oral symptoms (4.9 vs 6.6), emotional well-being (3.0 vs 4.7) and social well-being (2.2 vs 3.5) were higher than in the caries-free group. Regarding the aesthetic perception, the psychological domain (0.94 vs 1.27) and the overall perception of oral health (2.26 vs 2.93) were higher in the group with dental caries. In the linear regression, there was a significant contribution of the number of permanent decayed teeth and the dmft (decayed, missing and filled deciduous teeth) index to the worst perception of quality of life. Conclusion: Dental caries negatively affects aesthetic perception and quality of life in 8- to 10-year-old children.