Impact of dental caries and trauma on quality of life among 5- to 6-year-old children: perceptions of parents and children

Objective To assess the impact of dental caries and traumatic dental injuries (TDI) on the oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) of 5‐ to 6‐year‐olds according to both self‐ and parental reports. Methods A total of 335 pairs of parents and children who sought dental screening at the Dental School, University of São Paulo, completed the Scale of Oral Health Outcomes for 5‐year‐old children (SOHO‐5), which consists of a child self‐report and a parental proxy‐report version. Three calibrated examiners assessed the experience of caries according to primary teeth that were decayed, indicated for extraction due to caries, or filled (def‐t). TDI were classified into uncomplicated and complicated injuries. Poisson regression models were used to associate the different clinical and sociodemographic factors to the outcome. Results Overall, 74.6% of children reported an oral impact, and the corresponding estimate for parental reports was 70.5%. The mean (standard deviation) SOHO‐5 scores in child self‐report and parental versions were 3.32(3.22) and 5.18(6.28), respectively. In both versions, caries was associated with worse children's OHRQoL, for the total score and all SOHO‐5 items (P