Aims Firstly, to translate and validate the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale- Slovenian version (ECOHIS-SVN), the first Slovenian instrument assessing Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in preschool children. Secondly, to compare the effectiveness of treating cavitated carious lesions in primary molars using a non-invasive restorative technique (NRCT) or a conventional technique (CT).
Methods The ECOHIS-SVN was developed through forward-backwards translations and its psychometric properties were analysed: internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients - ICC), convergent validity (Spearman’s rank correlation - r) and criterion validity (Mann-Whitney U test). Subsequently, a randomised controlled trial was conducted to compare conventional treatment (CT) and non-restorative caries treatment (NRCT). Clinical efficacy, plaque presence, child’s cooperation, pain perception, parents’ treatment opinion and children’s OHRQoL were assessed. Statistical analyses included Fisher’s exact test for clinical efficacy, Mann-Whitney U test for differences between groups in dental plaque, dmft and ECOHIS-SVN scores and for children’s cooperation, pain perception and parents’ opinion. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the association between children’s cooperation, study groups, pain perception and parents’ opinion.
Results In the first study, 255 children (4.8 years± 0.8) participated. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.85, ICC was 0.85, and r was 0.6-0.75. In the second study, 53 children (30 in the CT and 23 in the NRCT group) were included. Of 104 teeth, 15 (14.4%; CT=5, NRCT=10) have had at least one complication. NRCT showed greater efficiency in reducing dental plaque compared to CT (p=0.013). There were no statistically significant differences between groups in children’s cooperation (p=0.169), child’s pain perception (p=0.515) and parent’s responses - treatment acceptability (p=0.324), child’s comfort (p=0.563), while child’s cooperation was rated better in CT group (p=0.011). Multiple linear regression confirmed a statistically significant association between the child’s cooperation and pain perception (p=0.027) or the parents’ responses (p=0.038), while the selected type of treatment (CT/NRCT) had no impact (p=0.104). Comparison between the groups in OHRQoL did not differ statistically significantly (p=0.422).
Conclusions The ECOHIS-SVN is a reliable and valid instrument to assess the OHRQoL in preschool children. While CT is clinically more efficient for cavitated lesions in primary teeth, NRCT demonstrates advantages in plaque control, presenting itself as a child-friendly approach enabling that potentially delays the necessity for more invasive treatments.
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