Correlation Between Oral and Dental Health Status of Primary School Children and Their Family Quality of Life in Torbat Heydariyeh County in Iran

Due to little information on Iranian families, this study was conducted to investigate the correlation between the oral-dental health status of primary school children and their Family’s Quality of Life (QoL).

In this cross-sectional study, the oral-dental health status of 251 primary school children in Torbat Heydariyeh county, Iran, was examined according to decayed, missing, and filled teeth index for primary (dmft) and permanent (DMFT) teeth by a checklist. Their mothers (n=251) responded to the Family Impact Scale (FIS) for the assessment of family’s QoL. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 by Poisson and Multiple Linear Regression analyses.

Primary dental caries of children at an intermediate level (dmft = 3.4 ± 3.1) and their permanent dental caries at a low level (DMFT = 2.6 ± 2.9) were evaluated. The mean score of families’ QoL was estimated 13±7.5 out of a maximum of 56. Pearson correlation test showed that there was no significant correlation between the FIS and dmft/DMFT index (P > 0.05). Regression models revealed that there was a correlation between mothers' dental visits over the past 8 months with the dmft (p=0.006), the DMFT index (p=0.016) and families’ QoL (p=0.045).

Although our study didn't show a correlation between the dental health status of children and family’s QoL, the findings showed that there is still a gap between the goals of the WHO and the dental health status of children in Torbat Heydariyeh county.