Association of dental caries morbidity stages with oral health-related quality of life in children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Dental caries morbidity stages and their impact on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) have not yet been established. AIM: To compare the association of dental caries morbidity stages with OHRQoL in children and adolescents from public schools of Patos-PB, Brazil. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was performed on 461 students at 8-10 years and 454 at 11-14 years. Caries was evaluated by Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST) instrument. The maximum CAST code per individual was registered. OHRQoL was assessed using the Child Perceptions Questionnaires for children (CPQ8-10 ) and adolescents (CPQ11-14 ). RESULTS: Morbidity stage was the most prevalent caries condition in children (40.8%) and adolescents (38.1%). Factors associated with higher CPQ8-10 scores in the multivariate regression analysis after adjustments were age [9 years, prevalence ratio (PR): 1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.45; and 10 years, PR: 1.32, CI: 1.13-1.55] and dental caries status [morbidity, PR: 1.23, CI: 1.03-1.48; and severe morbidity, PR: 1.30, CI: 1.04-1.61]. The factor associated with higher CPQ11-14 scores was dental caries status [morbidity, PR: 1.20, CI: 1.00-1.44]. CONCLUSIONS: The OHRQoL of children was negatively associated with morbidity and severe morbidity stages of dental caries, while for adolescents, only morbidity had a negative association with their OHRQoL.

Caries Experience According to ICDAS in Preschool Children from Private and Public Schools of a Community with a Nonfluoridated Water Supply.

PURPOSE: Using the ICDAS (International Caries Detection and Assessment System), to assess caries experience in the primary dentition of preschool children living in a socioeconomically poor area with a nonfluoridated water supply, and to compare the stages of caries manifestation between children from private and public schools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This census included all children aged 3 to 5 years from public and private schools from Teixeira, Brazil. Clinical examinations were carried out by two calibrated examiners using ICDAS, the results of which were converted into components of dmf-s and dmf-t. RESULTS: The majority of children had caries; the prevalence of enamel and dentin lesions was 81.7%. The prevalence of dentin lesions alone was 62.1%. The mean values of the d2mf2-s/d2mf2-t indices (enamel and dentin lesions) and d3mf3-s/d3mf3-t indices (dentin lesions) were 13.5 ± 14.9/6.8 ± 5.8 and 7.4 ± 10.9/3.0 ± 3.6, respectively. There was no significant difference between the dmf-s/dmf-t indices of children from private vs public schools (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Caries was highly prevalent in the primary dentition of this Brazilian population, and the presence of noncavitated lesions was the most prevalent condition. Children from private and public schools showed similar caries experience.