Traumatic dental injury and oral health–related quality of life among 15 to 19 year old adolescents from Santa Maria, Brazil

• Published in: Dental traumatology 2021-02, Vol.37 (1), p.58-64
• Main Authors: Comim, Letícia Donato, Dalla Nora, Ângela, Knorst, Jessica Klöckner, Racki, Débora Nunes de Oliveira, Zenkner, Julio Eduardo do Amaral, Alves, Luana Severo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Brazil - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; cross‐sectional study; Dental Caries; Dental occlusion; Dentistry; Epidemiology; Gingivitis; Humans; Oral Health; Oral hygiene; Population studies; Quality of Life; Regression analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; tooth injuries; Tooth Injuries - epidemiology; Trauma; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1600-4469; 1600-9657
• DOI: 10.1111/edt.12594

Background/Aims The literature is scarce on the association between traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and oral health–related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adolescents, and there is no study assessing this relationship using clinical criteria for the assessment of TDI in this age group. The aim of this study was to assess the association between TDI and OHRQoL among 15 to 19yearold adolescents from Santa Maria, Brazil. Materials and Methods A population‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted including a representative sample of 1197 15 to 19yearold adolescents attending 31 public and private schools. The Oral Health Impact Profile‐14 (OHIP‐14) was used to evaluate the OHRQoL, and clinical examinations were performed to diagnose TDI based on the O’Brien classification. Demographic information, socioeconomic status, and clinical characteristics (caries experience, malocclusion, and gingivitis) were also collected as adjusting variables. Multilevel Poisson regression models were used to assess the association between TDI and OHRQoL. Rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated. Results The overall prevalence of TDI was 17%, mild trauma was 12%, and severe trauma was 5%. In the adjusted models, adolescents with TDI had poorer OHRQoL than those without TDI (RR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.05‐1.16). This negative effect was related to the psychological disability domain (RR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.02‐1.32), to the social disability domain (RR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.13‐1.59), and to the handicap domain (RR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.10‐1.66). Conclusions Despite its low severity, TDI negatively affected the OHRQoL of 15 to 19yearold adolescents from Santa Maria, Brazil.