Evaluation of a generic quality of life instrument for early childhood caries-related pain

Objective: This prospective study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Infant and Toddler Child Quality of Life Questionnaire (ITQOL) by comparing quality of life (QOL) of two groups of children afflicted with early childhood dental caries with a caries-free group. Methods: A convenience sample of 150 children divided into three groups (mean age [months] 51 ± 15) was studied. Group I (OR) had extensive dental caries and were waiting for several months for treatment under general anesthesia. Group II were children who sought emergency services for acute odontogenic pain/abscess, and group III were children who were caries-free new patients. Parents/caretakers were administered the ITQOL, which assesses a child's physical, emotional and social well being from the parent/guardian's perspective. Results: The ITQOL had high success in item validity with good reliability. Significant differences in QOL were noted for scales of pain and discomfort, behavior and moods, global behavior, and impact on parental time (P ≤ 0.05) among the three groups. No significant differences were noted for scales of growth and development, general health and impact on parents' emotional and mental health. Conclusions: The ITQOL proved to be a useful instrument for characterizing QOL in this dental caries-afflicted sample. Overall, children with chronic and acute dental caries had a poorer QOL than caries-free children in areas of behavior, mood, pain and parental impact.