School type and oral conditions associated with school performance and absenteeism in adolescents: A multilevel analysis

Background Investigations assessing how oral health status affects school performance and attendance considering individual and community variables are lacking. Aim To analyze the association of school contextual factors and oral conditions with school performance and absenteeism in early adolescence. Design This cross‐sectional study was carried out with 593 12‐year‐old students from 20 schools in Passo Fundo, a southern city in Brazil. The caregivers provided sociodemographic information by means of a questionnaire. Oral health status was clinically examined for dental caries and gingival bleeding. Students answered the CPQ11‐14 questionnaire to assess the oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL). Information on contextual factors was obtained from the schools' administrators. “School performance” was measured by Portuguese and Mathematic tests' scores, and “school absenteeism” by the number of school days missed. Descriptive statistics was conducted, followed by unadjusted and adjusted multilevel linear regression. Results At the individual level, low OHRQoL was associated with lower school performance and higher absenteeism. At the contextual level, students from private schools had higher school performance and lower mean of school days missed. Conclusions The type of school and OHRQoL were associated with school performance and attendance of adolescents.