Abstract
Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) impacts both children and their families.
Aim: To characterise improvement in oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among young children undergoing treatment for ECC under general anaesthesia (GA) and its association with family functioning.
Design: Pre-test/post-test design, with OHRQoL measured before treatment and then at 1, 6, and 12 months post-treatment, using the P-CPQ8 and the FIS8. Family functioning was measured before treatment, using the 12-item General Functioning (GF12) subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device.
Results: Of the 353 recruited participants, 300 (85.0%) underwent comprehensive dental treatment, with the remainder undergoing extractions only. Just over half were reassessed after 1 month, with that falling to 42.8% and 35.4% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Only one in five participated in all four assessments. Improvements in P-CPQ8 and FIS8 scores from baseline showed large effect sizes. Those with poorer family functioning did not have higher P-CPQ8 and FIS8 scores after treatment, but younger children did.
Conclusion: Treating cases of ECC under GA leads to marked OHRQoL improvements that remain detectable 1 year later, but those do not tend to be greater in better-functioning families.