Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale: Psychometric Evaluation in Portuguese Preschoolers.

Objective: to contribute to the validation of the Early Childhood Oral Impact Scale (ECOHIS) by studying its psychometric properties when applied to a Portuguese preschool population. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with children aged between three and five-years-old. The non-probabilistic sample included two preschools in the municipality of Lisbon. Children who agreed to participate and whose guardians signed the informed consent were included. Data collection included a questionnaire, administered to the parents, and an intraoral examination of the children. The questionnaire included the Portuguese version of ECOHIS. The intraoral examination included the caries diagnosis according to the World Health Organization criteria. Discriminant validity compared the ECOHIS score between children with and without caries experience (Mann-Whitney U-test). Cohen's d was calculated to estimate the magnitude of the difference. Reliability analysis included Cronbach's α and test-retest. Construct validity was analyzed by the correlation between the ECOHIS score and dmft (Spearman's correlation). A significance level of 5% was used. Results: The sample included 104 children (mean age 4.1 years). ECOHIS values were significantly different between children with and without caries (p=0.004). The Cohen's d was 0.84. The Cronbach's was 0.78, with no significant increase in value when eliminating any of the items. The test-retest showed significant correlation (r=0.76; p=0.01). There was a significant correlation between the ECOHIS score and caries experience (r=0.28; p=0.004). Conclusion: The Portuguese version of the ECOHIS showed good psychometric properties, indicating that it is a reliable and valid tool to measure the impact of oral health in preschool children.

Short-term impact of an oral health program for adults with cerebral palsy.

AIM: To evaluate the impact of an oral health program for institutionalized individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and their caregivers, after 2 and 6 months. METHODS: Sixty-two CP individuals in four homes were selected for intervention group (n = 31) and control group (n = 31). An oral hygiene practices questionnaire was applied to all caregivers at the baseline. Both groups received awareness sessions, practical demonstration of toothbrushing and adaptive techniques with role-play. In the study group, individual oral hygiene monitoring was also performed in the first 2 months. A gingival and an oral hygiene indexes were performed at the beginning, after 2 and 6 months of intervention. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction of gingival (p < 0.001) and oral hygiene (p < 0.001) indexes at 2 and 6 months in the intervention group with the most significant reductions at 2 months. Caregivers reported opening the mouth (84.6%) and swallowing toothpaste (61.5%) as the most important difficulties in performing toothbrushing. CONCLUSION: It was found that frequent and individualized monitoring of plaque control was essential to reduce dental plaque and gingivitis levels and that awareness sessions were not enough to produce clinically significant result.

Self-reported oral health-related habits, attitudes and knowledge in adults from Portugal, Romania and Sweden-A comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare the self-reported oral health knowledge, habits and attitudes of adults in Portugal, Romania and Sweden, each benefitting from a different oral health system. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1081 adults in the three countries, using an adapted version of the WHO oral health questionnaire. This survey took place between November 2015 and June 2016. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 46.85 with 95% CI (45.84, 47.86). Over 85% of the Portuguese and the Swedish, but only 55% of the Romanians, reported having 20 or more teeth left (P < 0.001). Most Swedes visit the dental office regularly, but only 50.5% of the Portuguese and 20.6% of the Romanians do so (P < 0.001). Interdental cleaning aids and fluoridated toothpaste were used the most in Sweden and the least in Romania. Daily consumption of sweets was lowest for Portugal and highest for Romania (P < 0.001), and daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables was lowest for Sweden (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There is a difference between the three countries regarding oral health, diet, dental attendance and oral health-related quality of life, with Romania being in most need of improvement in these areas. The differences could be explained by the distinct healthcare systems adopted by the countries.