Prevalence of orofacial pain and its impact on the oral health-related quality of life of textile industries workers of Laguna, SC, Brazil

The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of orofacial pain and its impact on the daily performance of workers in the textile industry in the municipality of Laguna, Brazil. A cross-sectional study involving all workers (n= 267) of the five textile industries of the municipality in 2004 was conducted. Data were obtained through the questionnaire proposed by Locker and Gruska to measure the Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) indicator. Socio-demographic data such as gender, age, level of schooling, income, job function and absenteeism due to orofacial pain was collected. Data were descriptively analyzed and the prevalence ratios, confidence intervals and unconditional multiple logistic regression were calculated. The prevalence of orofacial pain was 32.2% and the oral impact on daily performance was 28.5%. The regression model indicated that orofacial pain was the only variable statistically associated with the oral impact on daily performance, increasing its prevalence by more than 22 times, compared to those without orofacial pain. It was concluded that the prevalence of orofacial pain was high among workers, representing a decisive factor on the oral impact on daily performance.