Impact of Dental Rehabilitation on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A 12-Month Prospective Pilot Study in Two Different Age Groups.

Background and Objectives: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are at increased risk for oral health problems, yet prospective evidence on the impact of dental rehabilitation on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in this population remains limited. This study aimed to prospectively evaluate the effects of comprehensive chairside dental rehabilitation on OHRQoL in children with spastic-type CP across two age groups, and to compare outcomes with healthy controls over a 12-month follow-up period. Materials and Methods:This prospective controlled pilot study included 22 children (11 with spastic-type CP, 11 healthy controls), individually matched by age, sex, and caries index (dmft/DMFT). Participants were divided into two subgroups based on dentition stage: the primary dentition group (n = 12; 6 CP, 6 controls; ages 4-6, assessed with the parent-reported ECOHIS) and the mixed dentition group (n = 10; 5 CP, 5 controls; ages 7-10, assessed with the POQL, which incorporates both child-reported and parent-reported forms). OHRQoL was measured at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Comprehensive chairside dental rehabilitation was performed in accordance with AAPD guidelines. The Friedman test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for within-group and between-group comparisons, respectively. Effect sizes (Kendall's W and r) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for statistically significant findings. Results: Parent-reported POQL scores demonstrated statistically significant improvement over 12 months in both the CP (p = 0.004) and control (p = 0.007) groups, with the most pronounced change occurring between baseline and the 12th month. ECOHIS scores and child-reported POQL scores decreased across time points without reaching statistical significance. No significant between-group differences were detected at any time point. Conclusions: Comprehensive chairside dental rehabilitation was associated with significant improvements in parent-reported OHRQoL in both children with CP and healthy controls, whereas ECOHIS and child-reported POQL scores showed numerical improvements that did not reach significance. These findings indicate that high-functioning children with spastic-type CP can benefit from dental rehabilitation comparably to their healthy peers, though larger and more heterogeneous samples are needed to confirm and generalize these preliminary results.