Parental quality-of-life impacts following children's dento-alveolar trauma.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the impacts of children's dental injuries on parents and explore how demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics influence parental adaptation to dental injuries over time.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 244 families attending a UK-based Dental Hospital, for management of their child's traumatized permanent teeth, were invited to participate. Clinical information relating to the child's injury was collected from patient notes. Self-report questionnaires collected baseline information on children's oral health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL), parental satisfaction with dental treatment and parental health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and worry. Parental outcomes were assessed again at a six-month follow up.

RESULTS

108 children and 113 parents participated in the baseline study (44% and 46% response rates), and of this group, a total of 73 parents completed follow-up questionnaires (65% response rate). Parents reported improved HRQoL at follow up; however, parental worry did not decrease over time. Parental satisfaction with treatment and children's OHRQoL were the only significant predictors of parental HRQoL at the six-month follow up.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight the inter-relationship between child and parental outcomes following their children's dental injuries and the importance of the dental team delivering a family-centred approach for the management of their children's dental injuries.