Impact of oral health on quality of life of children from 6 to 10 years

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health is an inseparable component of general health. Objective: To evaluate the impact of oral health on quality of life in school children between 6 and 10 years old. Methods: The research was conducted through a questionnaire of perceived need Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and clinical examination in school children between 6 and 10 years old (n=265). The chi square test was used for association between categorical variables and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare means. Results: The highest rate of caries was found in 7 years old children, and the distribution of responses from OHIP-14 showed an average of 3.7311. Regarding the impact of oral health on quality of life, 89.4% had a weak impact. Conclusions: The impact of oral health in the studied population was mostly weak, but it was observed that when it was strong interfered on children´s daily activities.