Satisfaction with dental condition and oral health–related quality of life of school-age children with dental pain in Ibadan, Nigeria

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the association between oral health–related quality-of-life domains and satisfaction with dental condition of school-age children with dental pain in Ibadan, Nigeria. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1006 pupils aged 9–12 years who attended 18 randomly selected primary schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. An interviewer-administered questionnaire, Child Oral Impact on Daily Performances inventory in addition to oral examination was used to obtain data. Analysis was done with SPSS 23 and STATA 14 and p-value set at <0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported dental pain was 10.2%. The mean Child Oral Impact on Daily Performances inventory score was 2.6(±7.2) overall and 9.8(±12.4) for pupils with pain. There was a greater impact on oral health–related quality of life of respondents who reported dental pain than in others (mean rank = 749.54 vs 475.4, U = 21,162, p < 0.001) compared to those with clinically assessed pain (mean rank = 541.21 vs 502.97, U = 6416, p = 0.489). Those who reported dental pain were more dissatisfied with their dental condition (odds ratio = 7.7, 95% confidence interval = 5.0–12.0, p < 0.001) compared to those with clinically assessed dental pain (odds ratio = 1.3, 95% confidence interval = 0.4–4.9, p = 0.687). The direct effect of pain on satisfaction with dental condition and Child Oral Impact on Daily Performances inventory was β = 0.74 (standard error = 0.12, 95% confidence interval = 0.50–0.97, p < 0.001) and β = 0.53 (standard error = 0.05, 95% confidence interval = 0.44–0.63, p < 0.001), respectively. The indirect effect was β = 0.12 (standard error = 0.039, 95% confidence interval = 0.05–0.20, p = 0.001) and the total effect was β = 0.86 (standard error = 0.11, 95% confidence interval = 0.64–1.08, p < 0.001); R(2) = 0.21. CONCLUSION: Self-reported dental pain significantly impacted the quality of life of the pupils to cause dissatisfaction with dental condition when compared to clinically assessed pain.