Clinical Consequences of Untreated Carious Lesions and Their Impact on the Quality of Life of Peruvian Preschoolers

Evelyn R. Munayco-Pantoja; Héctor Pereyra-Zaldívar & Marleny M. Cadillo-Ibarra

Summary

Untreated dental caries has repercussions on the health of children who suffer from it, it also affects family well-being; Furthermore, there is a greater probability of presenting clinical consequences, which would aggravate the health condition. The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of extensive carious lesions on dentin and the clinical consequences of untreated carious lesions on the quality of life of Peruvian preschoolers. A total of 150 children, 3 to 5 years old, were evaluated using ICDAS and PUFA. The dental extraction history was also evaluated and the presence of dental pain was recorded. The impact of oral health on quality of life was evaluated using the Peruvian version of ECOHIS (PECOHIS). The binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between the prevalence of extensive carious lesions in dentin, PUFA, extraction history and dental pain with the P-ECOHIS score. The mean total P-ECOHIS score was 19.98 ± 6.9, the prevalence of untreated carious lesions and extensive carious lesions in dentin was 90 % and 71 %, respectively. 77 % of untreated carious teeth developed an oral infection. Dental pain had a statistically significant association with the P-ECOHIS score (p <0.05) (OR = 3.76; 95 % CI: 1.61 - 8.80). Children who had pulp involvement (OR = 2.44; 95 % CI: 1.12 - 5.30) and the presence of fistula (OR = 4.39; 95 % CI: 1.72 – 11.24) were highly likely to have high scores on the PECOHIS (p <0.05). Extensive carious lesions in dentin do not impact the quality of life of Peruvian preschoolers, as it does negatively impact, pulpal involvement and the presence of fistula as clinical consequences of untreated carious lesions.

KEY WORDS: dental caries, child, quality of life, oral health.

How to cite this article

MUNAYCO-PANTOJA, E. R.; PEREYRA-ZALDÍVAR, H. & CADILLO-IBARRA, M. M. Clinical consequences of untreated carious lesions and their impact on the quality of life of peruvian preschoolers. Int. J. Odontostomat. 15(1):256-262, 2021.