title: Impact of early childhood caries on oral health-related quality of life of preschool children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Child oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL) has been assessed in developed areas; however, it remains unstudied in mainland China. Studies on COHRQoL would benefit a large number of children in China suffering from oral health problems such as dental caries. This study explored the relationship between COHRQoL and early childhood caries, adjusted by socioeconomic factors, in 3- to 4-year-old children in a region of southern China.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, 1062 children aged 3-4 years were recruited by cluster sampling and their oral health statuses were examined by a trained dentist. The Chinese version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) and questions about the children's socioeconomic conditions were completed by the children's parents. A negative binomial regression analysis was used to assess the prevalence of early childhood caries among the children and its influence on COHRQoL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total ECOHIS scores of the returned scale sets ranged from 0 to 31, and their average scores was 3.1±5.1. The negative binomial analysis showed that the dmfs indices were significantly associated with the ECOHIS score and subscale scores (P<0.05). The multivariate adjusted model showed that a higher dmft index was associated with greater negative impact on COHRQoL (RR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.07, 1.13; P < 0.05). However, demographic and socioeconomic factors were not associated with COHRQoL (P>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The severity of early childhood caries has a negative impact on the oral health-related quality of life of preschool children and their parents.
authors: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology.
authors: M Y
authors: MY
authors: Li
authors: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology.
authors: Q H
authors: QH
authors: Zhi
authors: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Zhou
authors: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology.
authors: R M
authors: RM
authors: Qiu
authors: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology.
authors: H C
authors: HC
authors: Lin
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000523:psychology*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000523:psychology; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D012919:Social Behavior; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000523:psychology