Impact of contextual school and home environmental characteristics on oral health-related quality of life among 11–14 years old children residing in Sri Ganganagar city

Abstract

Background: Environment has shown a significant impact on day-to-day activities like psychological well-being, including oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among children. Aim: To assess the impact of contextual school and home environmental characteristics on OHRQoL among 11–14 years old children residing in Sri Ganganagar city. Materials and Methods: A convenience sample of 345 children aged 11–14 years old were recruited. The present cross-sectional study was conducted among school-going children in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, during November 2018–January 2019. Data were collected on demographic characteristics along with OHRQoL using Child-Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (C-OIDP) index. A prevalidated questionnaire used to collect data on contextual school and home environmental characteristics, oral hygiene, and dental caries were recorded using Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S) and Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index, respectively. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics Windows, Version 21.0. (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, t-test, and multivariable Poisson regressions models were analyzed for this study, and the level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean C-OIDP extent was significantly higher in 11-year-old (6.11 ± 4.53) (P = 0.008), among those who were living with single parents with a less maternal level of education (<9 years). The mean DMFT score was higher among the participants who did not feel safe at school (3.94 ± 2.24) (P < 0.01) and mean OHI-S score was seen higher among those who were bullied at school (2.50 ± 0.51) (P = 0.018). Mean C-OIDP extent was statistically associated with bullying at school (P = 0.007) and lack of security (P = 0.002). Among all factors of C-OIDP, smiling factor shows a major problem for the children (10.2 ± 4.73) (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Poor school and home environmental characteristics were independently associated with poor OHRQoL in individuals. Actions toward the improvement of schools' security and implementation of anti-bullying campaigns should be components of health promotion strategies.

Keywords

• child
• oral health
• quality of life
• schools