A comparison of oral health-related quality of life among children with and without cleft lip and palate

The aims of this prospective cross-sectional study were to evaluate the perceived oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children with cleft lip and or palate (CLP), to compare their perceptions with that of their parents and children without CLP. The instrument adopted in the study is based on Paediatric oral health-related quality of life scale (POQL) with three main dimensions: physical & role function, social effect, and emotional effect. The scale was applied to 80 children with CLP (mean age: 11.66 ± 2.09 years) and their parents, as well as other 80 children without CLP (mean age: 11.26±1.52 years) as a control group. Statistical tests were performed to assess POQL scores between groups. The internal consistency measured by Cronbach alpha was satisfactory in children's sample (0.849) and parents' sample (0.882). When dimensions of POQL were evaluated, social effect scores of the children with CLP were significantly higher compared to that of control group (p<0.01). Comparison of POQL scores between the children with CLP and their parents' report on the child's oral condition revealed significant differences between groups (p<0.05). POQL scores of the parents were higher compared to that of their children (p<0.01). Pearson's correlation tests revealed that social and emotional domains had strong correlation with POQL of the children with CLP and the parents (Pearson rho 0.894-0.908, p<0.01). As a conclusion, children with CLP had lower oral health related quality of life in terms of social dimension compared with children without CLP. The parents of children with CLP showed more negative perception regarding their child's oral health