Evaluation of quality of life with the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ) in children requiring general anesthesia for dental treatment.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of life of patients scheduled to complete all oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia (GA).

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The study included 65 parents of children aged 4-14 years who were scheduled for dental treatment under GA. Parents provided demographic information, including their children's tooth brushing habits, frequency, and attitudes towards general oral and dental health. Subsequently, the parent/caregiver completed the 31-item Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ). Oral examinations of the children were performed by a pediatric dentist, and dmft/DMFT indexes and pufa/PUFA indexes were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS (version 23.0) program, with a significance level set at p≤0.05. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for non-parametric variables, and the Shapiro-Wilk test was used for variables with a normal distribution. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to demonstrate the relationship between continuous data.

RESULTS

The majority of parents reported that their children brush their teeth once or twice a day (78.5%) and that their children's general oral and dental health status is moderate (53.8%). There was no statistically significant difference in P-CPQ total and subgroup scores between genders. It was determined that the P-CPQ total value decreased as the education level of both the mother (p=0.001) and father (p=0.043) increased. As DMFT/S values increased, P-CPQ total and subgroups 1, 2, and 3 increased (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that an increase in the number of primary tooth decays and a decrease in the education level of the parents might negatively impact their children's quality of life.