Impact of sociodemographic attributes and dental caries on quality of life of intellectual disabled children using ECOHIS

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the impact of oral health outcomes on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) among intellectual disabled children and their families.

Methodology: OHRQoL based study was conducted among 150 intellectual disabled children students in the North West part of the country, Rajasthan, India. Guardians were asked to complete questionnaire on socioeconomic status and the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) on their perception of the children’s OHRQoL. Clinical assessment included dental caries and OHI-S INDEX. Univariate regression analysis was fitted to assess covariates for the prevalence of impacts on OHRQoL.

Results: 54% of the caregivers reported that their child had an impact on at least one ECOHIS item. Negative impacts were more prevalent on items related to difficulty in eating some foods, difficulty in pronouncing any words and missed preschool, day-care or school. The univariate Poisson regression analysis showed that dental caries was significantly associated with the outcome. The prevalence of any impact on OHRQoL was approximately 1.32 and 2.84 times higher for children with low and higher severity of dental caries respectively when compared with those who were free of caries.

Conclusion: Patient-oriented outcomes like OHRQoL will enhance our understanding of the relationship between oral health and general health and demonstrate to clinical researchers and practitioners that improving the quality of patient’s well-being go beyond simply treating dental disease and disorders.