Children's Oral Health Behavior and Quality of Life – Panel Study

Objectives: to explore whether children's oral health behavior and their oral health-related quality of life are consistent over a 6 and a 12 month period.

Methods: Data were collected in 519 interviews (Time 1 = June 2006: 133; Time 2 = January 2007: 180; Time 3 = July 2007: 206) with children (53.6% girls / 46.2% boys) in three schools in rural areas in Brazil. The children ranged in age from 5 to 13 years. The children's oral health-related quality of life was measured with 10 items of the Michigan Oral Health-related Quality of Life Scale – Child Version.

Results: The majority of the children indicated that they brushed more than once a day (90%). The more frequently the children brushed at Time 1, the more frequently they brushed at Time 2 (r=.48; p<.001), and the more frequently they brushed at Time 3 (r=.489; p<.011). High percentages of children reported functional impairments: 44.1% reported that they have difficulties biting hard, and 23.1% having difficulties when chewing. While only 10.2% reported to have pain at the time of the interview, 27.4% reported pain when eating something sweet, and 32.9% when opening their mouth wide. The children's pain-related ohrqol scores were significantly correlated with the function-related ohrqol scores (T1: r=.534; T2: r=.548; p<.001; T3: r=.426; p<.001), but not with the esthetic-related ohrqol scores. The children's ohrqol scores correlated significantly between T1 and T2 (example: pain-related r=. 413; p<.001) and between T2 and T3 (pain-related r=.358; p=.03).

Conclusions: Children's reports about their tooth brushing habits were rather stable over a 6 and a 12 month period. Despite positive oral health-related behavior, high percentages of children in rural Brazil reported ohrqol impairments. And these impairments were rather stable over time.