Oral Health-related Quality of Life of Children with Early Childhood Caries before and after Receiving Complete Oral Rehabilitation under General Anesthesia.

INTRODUCTION

Early childhood caries (ECC) significantly affects the quality of life of children due to recurrent pain, infection, and other associated problems.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE

To assess the change in oral health-related quality of life of children aged <5 years undergoing complete oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 50 healthy children affected with ECC were enrolled for the present study. Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of every child was assessed by interviewing the mothers using a prevalidated Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) questionnaire one day prior to the treatment appointment and comparing the scores with those at 1 and 3 months post-treatment to evaluate the changes in the OHRQoL, if any and assess the stability of the changes.

RESULTS

The results revealed a statistically significant reduction in Ouality of Life (QoL) scores of all the domains and total ECOHIS scores between baseline and 1 month, and baseline and 3 months. The oral health-related quality of life showed a significant improvement after complete oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia and the improvement persisted beyond the immediate post-treatment period.

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE

Raghu R, Gauba K, Goyal A, Oral Health-related Quality of Life of Children with Early Childhood Caries before and after Receiving Complete Oral Rehabilitation under General Anesthesia. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(S-2):S117-S123.