Comparative evaluation of the effect of oral health on quality of life in children of different age groups according to parental perception

Our study aimed to examine the effect of oral health conditions on the quality of life of children, the level of perception of these effects by parents and the change in this perception according to age groups. A total of 1238 participants, including 310 children aged 8-10 years and 309 children aged 11-14 years and their parents, participated in the study. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires translated into Turkish have been used for the assessment of oral health-related quality of life. In our study, CPQ (8-10) and CPQ (11-14) for children and P-CPQ for parents were administered and forms were filled out after oral examinations. Our findings showed that oral health conditions such as traumatic dental injury, complaints of dental pain, enamel defects in anterior and posterior teeth, and presence of MIH were statistically significant differences in CPQ questionnaires (p<0.05). These conditions negatively affected the quality of life of the children. The presence of tooth loss also showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05), but had a positive effect on quality of life. Statistically significant, positive correlations were found between dt, dft, DT, DFT values and CPQ scores (p<0.05). According to the parents' opinions, statistically significant differences were found in the P-CPQ questionnaire in the presence of dental pain, enamel defects in anterior and posterior teeth, MIH, caries and restorations in anterior teeth (p<0.05). These conditions caused parents to evaluate their children's quality of life negatively. In our study, when the correlation between the total scores of children and parents was analyzed, statistically significant but low level relationships were found in both age groups (p<0.05). This finding showed that parental perception was independent of age. It is possible to reduce the negative impact of oral health conditions on quality of life by raising awareness of children and parents. Considering the active role of parents in child care, it is important to evaluate the views of children and parents together in every step to improve the quality of life of the child. Keywords: quality of life, parental perception, oral health-related quality of life in children