Oral health-related quality of life and early childhood caries among preschool children in Trinidad

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a public health problem in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and ECC among preschool children in a Caribbean population.

Parents/primary caregivers of children attending nine, randomly selected preschools in central Trinidad were invited to complete an oral health questionnaire and have their child undertake an oral examination. The questionnaire included the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). Visible caries experience was assessed using WHO criteria. Logistic regression models were used to determine the factors associated with OHRQoL and ECC.

Three hundred nine parents/caregivers participated in the study (age-range 25–44 years) and 251 children (mean age 3.7 years) completed oral examinations. Adjusting for other factors, the odds for a child aged 4 years of having dental caries were greater than the odds for a child aged 3 years (OR 3.61; 95% CI (1.76, 6.83). The odds for children having difficulty drinking hot or cold drinks were greater for those with dental caries than the odds for children who have no such difficulty. Similarly, the odds for children who had difficulty eating were greater for those with dental caries than the odds ratios for children who had no difficulty eating (OR 8.29; 95% CI (2.00, 43.49). Adjusting for the effects of other factors, the odds of parents/caregivers feeling guilty were greater if their child had experienced dental caries in comparison to parents/caregivers whose child did not have dental caries (OR 3.50; 95% CI (1.32, 9.60). Adjusting for other factors, the odds of parents/primary caregivers having poor quality of life was increased when they had a child with a dmft in the range 1–3 (OR 2.68; 95% CI (1.30, 5.64) dmft > 4 (OR 8.58; 95%CI (3.71, 22.45), in comparison to those whose child had a dmft = 0.

In this sample of preschool children OHRQoL was associated with ECC. More negative impacts were found in children with a greater severity of visible caries experience. This suggests the need for strategies to prevent and manage ECC in this Caribbean population.