The effect of dental treatment under general anesthesia on oral health‐related quality of life of young children with early childhood caries and their parents

The aim of This study was to evaluate the effect of dental treatments under general anesthesia on the quality of life related to oral health of children with early dental caries and their parents.

In this descriptive–cross sectional study, 60 children with the age range of 2-6 years who were going to experience dental treatment under general anesthesia were included. ECOHIS(Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale) questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life related to childrenchr('39')s oral health and FIS questionnaire was used to assess the impact of oral health on their families. These questionnaires were completed by parents before and 4 weeks after treatment. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver.17 and T-test.

In this study 50% of the children were female and 50% were male. The mean age of the children was 4.02±1.01 years. The mean score of quality of life related to oral health was significantly decreased in both ECOHIS (P-value = 0.008) and FIS (P = 0.000) questionnaires after treatment. The mean score of child performance (P-value = 0.001) and child self-knowledge and social relations domains (P-value = 0.023) in ECOHIS questionnaire and the mean score in all domains of FIS questionnaire, after treatment was significantly reduced (P-value <0.005).

According to the results of the study, dental treatments under general anesthesia can significantly improve the quality of life related to oral health of children and their families.