title: Severity of Dental Caries and Quality of Life for Toddlers and Their Families.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the impact of untreated caries in different stages on the oral healthrelated quality of life (OHRQoL) of one- to three-year-olds and their families.
  
  
  METHODS
  The mothers of 308 children answered the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale to determine their perceptions of the OHRQoL of their children. The mothers also answered a questionnaire addressing demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of their families. The children were submitted to a clinical examination for the diagnosis of dental caries using International Caries Detection and Assessment System criteria. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests, and hierarchically adjusted Poisson regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of untreated caries was 64.3 percent. Among the children with caries, 53.5 percent exhibited the severe stage of the condition. Negative impact on OHRQoL was significantly associated with severe stage of caries (prevalence ratio [PR] equals 2.80, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] equals 1.90 to 4.12, P<0.001), and a younger age for the mother (PR equals 1.69, 95 percent CI equals 1.27 to 2.25, P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Untreated caries in advanced stages was associated with a poorer quality of life among one- to three-year-olds and their families.
authors.affiliation: Doctoral student, in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Brazil;, Email: bellahfernandes@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Izabella Barbosa
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Master in Pediatric Dentistry, in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Túlio Silva
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Doctoral student, in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Débora Souto
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramos-Jorge
authors.affiliation: Professor, in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leandro Silva
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Professor, in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Letícia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ramos-Jorge
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009909:Oral Health; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires