Changes in the oral health‐related quality of life in children following comprehensive oral rehabilitation under general anaesthesia

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess changes in the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), after comprehensive oral rehabilitation under general anaesthesia (CORGA), among children (i) <6 years using the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) and (ii) aged 6-14 years using the child oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL) instrument. METHODS: A total of 136 healthy children who had CORGA were recruited over a period of 12 months. The parent or caregiver of the study participants completed the age-appropriate questionnaire prior to the dental treatment and at the subsequent follow-up appointments (2 weeks and 3 months). Data were analysed using repeated-measures anova and Bonferroni tests. RESULTS: The overall ECOHIS scores decreased significantly (P < 0.001) demonstrating large effect sizes. The greatest decreases were for the domains of child oral symptoms (57.5%) and psychology (38.7%) in the child impact section (CIS) and for the domain of parental distress (38.9%) and family function (40%) in the family impact section (FIS). For COHRQoL, the overall P-CPQ and FIS scores decreased significantly for all items (P < 0.001), demonstrating large effect sizes. The greatest decreases were for the domains of oral symptoms (77.7%), functional limitations (74.3%), and the FIS (80.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The OHRQoL of children in both age groups (<6 and 6-14 years) was significantly improved after CORGA.