The impact of dental caries on the oral health related quality of life in children in Kanpur City, North India

Introduction: Childhood dental caries can have a negative impact on the oral health of both children and their caregivers. The purpose of this research was to assess the severity of dental caries and other covariates such as age and gender and affected the oral health-related quality of life of preschool children and their parents. Materials and Methods: 1110 preschool children aged 4–6 years attending both public and private schools of Kanpur city were studied. dmft index was used for quantifying dental caries. Oral Health-related Quality of LifeScale (OHRQoL) questionnaire of Michigan OHRQoL–Child Version and parent version was used to assess OHRQoL. Chi-square test was run for analyzing the relationship of OHRQoL with dental caries, age and gender. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Children with higher caries experience reported with compromised OHRQoL in each domains of “Pain/discomfort,” “Temperomandibular joint disorders,” “Consequences of poor oral health” and “Psychological/Esthetic domain.” OHRQoL exhibiting no difference between males and females in each domains of “Pain/discomfort,” “Temperomandibular joint disorders,” “Consequences of poor oral health” and “Psychological/Esthetic domain.” The younger age Group i.e., 4 year old reported with worse OHRQoL as compared to 5-year-old and 6 year old in each domains of “Pain/discomfort,” “Temperomandibular joint disorders,” “Consequences of poor oral health” and “Psychological/Esthetic domain.” Parent's perception of OHRQoL was high when compared to their children's OHRQoL. Conclusion: In the sample of preschool children evaluated, the overall influence of dental caries prevalence on OHRQoL was rather significant. Longitudinal analyses should be used in future studies to measure risk markers.