Oral diseases associated with condition‐specific oral health‐related quality of life and school performance of Thai primary school children: A hierarchical approach

摘要

Abstract Objectives To assess the hierarchical associations between children's school performance and condition‐specific ( CS ) oral health‐related quality of life ( OHRQ oL), school absence, oral status, sociodemographic and economic status ( SDES ) and social capital; and to investigate the associations between CS OHRQ oL and related oral status, adjusting for SDES and social capital. Methods Data on 925 sixth grade children in Sakaeo province, Thailand, were collected through oral examinations for dental caries and oral hygiene, social capital questionnaires, OHRQ oL interviews using the Child‐Oral Impacts on Daily Performances index, parental self‐administered questionnaires and school documents. A hierarchical conceptual framework was developed, and independent variables were hierarchically entered into multiple logistic models for CS OHRQ oL and linear regression models for school performance. Results After adjusting for SDES and social capital, children with high DMFT or DT scores were significantly threefold more likely to have CS impacts attributed to dental caries. However, poor oral hygiene was not significantly associated with CS impacts attributed to gingival disease. High DMFT scores were significantly associated with lower school performance, whereas high Simplified Oral Hygiene Index scores were not. The final model showed that CS impacts attributed to dental caries and school absence accounted for the association between DMFT score and school performance. Conclusions Dental caries was associated with CS impacts on OHRQ oL, and exerted its effect on school performance through the CS impacts and school absence. There was no association between oral hygiene and CS impacts on OHRQ oL or school performance.