Influence of full mouth rehabilitation on oral health‐related quality of life among disabled children

The efficacy of full mouth rehabilitation (FMR) on oral health‐related quality of life of physically disabled children was assessed. This prospective study was performed at Dental Department of Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, Riyadh, and King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during May 2012 to September 2014. A total of 186 physically disabled children aged 11–14 years were assigned to a test group (n = 97) or a control group (n = 89). FMR was applied for test group children at baseline and 3 months' visits, whereas those in the control group did not receive FMR. Both group children received dental kits and oral hygiene instructions. Children were asked to complete the Child Perceptions Questionnaire, whereas Parental‐Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire and Family Distress Domain questionnaire were completed by the parents/caregivers at baseline and 6 months' visits. Children in both groups showed positive trends in oral symptoms at 6 months compared with those at baseline. However, when they were compared to control, significant improvement in oral symptoms was observed in the test group at 6 months' visit (p < .05). Also when they were compared to control, significant improvements were observed in the functional limitation, emotional, and social well‐being subscales of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire and on the Parental‐Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire scales at the end of the study (p < .05). Compared to the parents/caregivers of the control children, the parents/caregivers of the test‐group children reported insignificant but positive trends in Family Distress Domain at the end of the study (p < .05). FMR in children reduced oral‐related problems subsequently to a better oral health‐related quality of life.