Traumatic Dental Injuries Treatment and Oral Health Related to Quality of Life

The aim of this research was to assess the impact of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) on children and their families affected by Traumatic Dental Injury (TDI) after insertion into a Dental Trauma Care Program (DTCP). After a sample size calculation, this non-randomized clinical study was composed of a consecutive sample of 2 to 6-year-old children registered in the DTCP from 2012-2019. Parents/Caregivers were interviewed to fill up an OHRQoL questionnaire. The Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS) was applied (in form of an interview) to evaluate the impact of TDI on OHRQoL before, and after treatment. The scores of the B-ECOHIS were calculated using the additive method, summing the numeric response codes for each item. The Andreassen classification was used to determine the TDI. The patients were treated (minimally intervention/invasive intervention) according to TDI severity (uncomplicated/complicated). The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was performed to evaluate the normality of the data to determine the use of parametric or non-parametric tests. Mean or median comparisons were made for items in the overall scale and subscale scores to compare B-ECOHIS total scale/subscales/domains before and after insertion in DTCP. The responsiveness was assessed by analyzing the change in the scores on the scales and subscales. The changes were calculated by subtracting the post-treatment scores from the before-treatment scores. Positive change scores indicate an improvement in OHRQoL, while negative scores indicate deterioration. TDI severity and treatment-associated were also evaluated.