Impact of a dental care program on the quality of life of children with and without caries

Abstract

Impact of a dental care program on the quality of life of children with and without caries Abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term effects of the caries treatment provided by a dental care program on changes in schoolchildren's OHRQoL. A one-year follow-up was conducted with a sample of 372 children aged 8 to 10 years which were clinically examined and divided into two matched groups according to their caries experience: dental treatment group (DTG) and group without caries (GWC). Both groups were assessed three times (at baseline, at 4 weeks, and at 1 year) using the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ [8][9][10] ). The normality test was performed for the statistical analyses; the Friedman test was used for the dependent variables (longitudinal assessment repeated three times for the same group); and the Mann-Whitney test was used for the independent variables (test and control groups in each time period). There was improvement in all domains and in overall CPQ 8-10 (p < 0.0001) in the DTG over time, but no significant changes (p > 0.05) were observed at baseline for overall CPQ 8-10 and for the emotional well-being domain in the GWC. The comparison between groups demonstrated that OHRQoL was persistently better for the GWC (p < 0.05) over time.In conclusion, dental caries treatment has a long-term positive impact on schoolchildren's OHRQoL, highlighting the importance of health policies that promote access to dental care for this population.

Trends over Time in Dental Caries status in Urban and Rural Thai Children

“…One possible explanation is the increased access to dental services available in the rural areas. Other studies have shown ( 20 ) that such trends can be found when people have increased access to dental services. Further study is needed to find an explanation for this anomaly in the data.…”

Avaliação da cobertura populacional e caracterização do perfil de assistência odontológica como ferramenta para planejamento de atividades de integração ensino-serviço-comunidade

“…Nesse contexto, a integração ensinoserviço-comunidade pode contribuir para ampliação do acesso aos serviços de saúde, pois as faculdades, ao se tornarem referência de atenção odontológica à população, inclusive com a oferta de serviços especializados, podem complementar efetivamente as redes de saúde, conforme já observado em outras experiências no país 14,15 . Porém, é essencial o conhecimento da situação de saúde e do desempenho do sistema para o melhor planejamento das ações.…”

Effect of educational strategy combined with ART on oral health-related quality of life: a controlled clinical trial

“…In addition, a higher percentage of children from this group also considered the health of their teeth/mouth as "excellent" after treatment, meaning that they probably acquired sufficient awareness to understand the benefits of dental treatment. 16 As OHES sessions were designed to increase knowledge on the relationship between health, disease, and quality of life, 7,10 the strategy provided understanding of their own oral problems and symptoms and the extent to which these symptoms may 'bother' and affect their daily activities, which were not sufficiently perceived before dental treatment. However, it is important to mention that contact with the health team was more frequent and intense with the OHES+ART group, totaling 5 or more sessions including OHES and ART procedures, which may have also favored this group.…”

“…7 Such strategies can encompass physical and mental health aspects aimed at providing learning experiences on health topics, developing personal skills, and promoting healthier behaviors. 9,10,11 Oral health programs can be especially relevant in primary school, a convenient place for changing unhealthy behaviors, particularly of groups in which healthy habits have not yet been established. 12 Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as a minimal intervention procedure applicable at the public health level to manage dental caries.…”