Assessment of oral health related quality of life

AIM The study objective was to examine the impact of oral health and disease on the quality of life of a population sample of 11 to 14-year-old children in Ile-Ife, Nigeria using the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14). The hypothesis was that children with more severe malocclusions and greater caries experience would have higher CPQ scores indicating worse quality of life. MATERIALS AND METHODS A random sample of school children were selected to participate in this study. Two hundred and forty eight children duly completed the CPQ11-14 and were examined for malocclusion and dental caries using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and DMFT index. RESULTS Overall CPQ 11-14 scores ranged from 0 to 81 with a mean of 23.44 ± 17.19. There was no distinct gradient in mean CPQ scores across the DAI categories of malocclusion. Children with high caries experience according to the DMFT also did not have higher CPQ scores. Significant correlations were observed between the overall CPQ11-14 and domain scores and global ratings of oral health and overall well-being. No statistically significant associations were found between the clinical and overall CPQ scores. CONCLUSION The results indicate that the presence of malocclusion and dental caries did not have a significant impact on the quality of life of the Nigerian children using the CPQ11-14. The CPQ11-14 may be unable to discriminate between children in various malocclusion categories in all population groups. The relationship of reported quality of life and malocclusion is probably mediated by other factors.