Prevalence, Extent and Intensity of Oral Impacts South African Schoolchildren

Traditional clinical dental methods of measuring oral health provide information only on normative aspects of oral health. More recently, normative clinical indices have been complemented by oral health related quality of life (OHRQol) measures. Most OHRQol studies have been carried out on adults or elderly populations, only a few have examined population-based samples of children, and none have been done in Southern Africa. Objective: To assess the prevalence, extent and intensity of oral impacts in schoolchildren. Methods: Cross-sectional study, using a random cluster sampling method. An OHRQoL measure, the Child Oral Impacts on Daily Performance index (Child-OIDP) was used to assess the oral impacts. Results: Sixty four per cent (n=1665) of the sample population of 2610 children aged 11-13 years from 26 primary schools participated in the study. 36.2% reported one or more socio-dental impacts. Eating was the most common performance affected (22.8%) followed by cleaning of mouth (17.2%). Among those with impacts, the mean number of daily performances affected was 1.62, with 61.1% reporting impacts for one performance. With regard to impact intensity levels, 63.1% reported that impacts were of “very little” or “little” intensity. However, impacts on studying and emotional status were more intense. The main perceived causes of the impacts were “toothache and “tooth decay”, with the exception of impacts in relation to cleaning teeth and smiling, which were primarily caused by “bleeding gums” and “tooth colour” respectively. Prevalence and extent of oral impacts increased with increasing age, but not with regard to intensity of the impact. Conclusions: The prevalence of the oral impacts on the quality of life in this population of schoolchildren was relatively modest. Using additional ways of measuring OHRQol (such as extent and intensity) provides a more clear picture by identifying important underlying patterns of impacts. This study was funded by SANPAD.