title: Changes in preschool children's OHRQoL after treatment of dental caries: responsiveness of the B-ECOHIS.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures should be tested for responsiveness to change if they are to be used as outcomes in randomized clinical trials.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the responsiveness of the Brazilian ECOHIS (B-ECOHIS) to dental treatment of dental caries.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred parents of 3- to 5-year-old children completed the B-ECOHIS prior to their children's treatment and 7-14 days after completion of treatment. The post-treatment questionnaire also included a global transition judgment that assessed parent's perceptions of change in their children's oral health following treatment. Change scores, longitudinal construct validity, standardized effect sizes (ES) and standardized response mean (SRM) were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Improvements in children's oral health after treatment were reflected in mean pre- and post-treatment B-ECOHIS scores. They declined considerably significantly from 17.4 to 1.6 (P < 0.0001), as did the individual domain scores (P < 0.0001). There were significant differences in the pre- and post-treatment scores of children who reported little improvement (P < 0.0001) as well as in those who reported large improvements (P < 0.0001). The ES and SRM based on change scores mean for total scores and for categories of global transitions judgments were large.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dental treatment resulted in significant improvement of the preschool children's OHRQoL. The B-ECOHIS is responsive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abanto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Saul Martins
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London 1-19 Torrington Place, London, UK.
authors.forename: Aubrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sheiham
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London 1-19 Torrington Place, London, UK.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tsakos
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fausto Medeiros
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thais
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cordeschi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Evelyn Alvarez
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Vidigal
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bönecker
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires