ABSTRACT
Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of erosive tooth wear on the Oral Health-Related Quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children.
Methods:
Dental examinations were conducted on 815 children aged 3-4 years during the Children’s Vaccination National Day when their parents were also invited to answer the Brazilian Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS). ETW prevalence and severity were measured using a modified version of the O’Brien index (1994). Data collected included socioeconomic factors and child's variables. OHRQoL was measured through B-ECOHIS domains and total score. Poisson regression was used to associate ETW to the outcome and this association was adjusted for dental caries and dental trauma.
Results:
The proportion of children who had at least 1 ETW tooth was 51.2%. Most erosive lesions were confined to enamel (42.7%). The multivariate adjusted model showed that child's age (children aged 4year-old) was associated to a negative impact on the symptom domain (RR=1.70; p=0.010), functional limitation domain (RR=1.85; p=0.005) and total B-ECOHIS score (RR= 1.63; p=0.006). Families with 2 or more children in the house have a negative impact on the self-image/social interaction domain (RR=5.41; p=0.043). ETW was not associated to total B-ECOHIS scores (RR= 0.79; p=0.163) and individual domains.
Conclusion:
Erosive tooth wear does not affect the OHRQoL in this sample of preschool children.
Indexing terms:
Oral health-related quality of life; Prevalence; Tooth erosion