Gustavo Tello

Does erosive tooth wear affect the oral health-related quality of life of preschool children?

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 childs 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 childs 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.