Oral health related quality of life and satisfaction with dental condition of school age children with dental pain in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract Background: Pain of dental origin is a major reason why school age children seek dental care in low resource settings but how it affects their oral health related quality of life and satisfaction with dental condition remains under researched. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of dental pain on oral health related quality of life as well as its association with satisfaction with dental condition of school age children in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1006 pupils aged 9-12 years who attended randomly selected primary schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. An interviewer administered questionnaire, Child–Oral Impact on Daily Performances inventory (C-OIDP) in addition to oral examination was used to obtain data. Analysis was done with SPSS version 23 and p value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The prevalence of self-reported dental pain was 10.2%. The mean C-OIDP score was 2.6 (±7.2) overall and 9.8 (±12.4) for pupils with pain. There was higher impact on oral health related quality of life of respondents who reported dental pain than those who did not (Mean Rank = 749.54 vs 475.4, U = 21162, Z = -12.724, p < 0.001) compared to those with and without clinically assessed pain (Mean Rank = 541.21 vs 502.97, U = 6416, Z = - 0.692, p = 0.489). Those who reported dental pain were more dissatisfied with their dental condition (OR = 7.7, CI = 5.0 – 12.0, P < 0.001) compared to those with clinically assessed dental pain (OR = 1.3, CI = 0.4 – 4.9, p = 0.687). Children with self-reported dental pain and who were dissatisfied with their dental condition reported highest odds of impairment in maintaining social contact (OR = 6.5, CI =0.7 - 58.3, p = 0.093). Conclusion:Self-reported dental pain significantly impacted the quality of life of the pupils and caused dissatisfaction with dental condition when compared to clinically assessed pain.