CHANGES IN PARENTAL SATISFACTION AND ORAL HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AFTER RECEIVING ATRAUMATIC RESTORATIVE TREATMENT WITH OR WITHOUT PRIOR SILVER DIAMINE FLUORIDE APPLICATION

Objective To investigate the short-term and long-term changes in parental satisfaction and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children after receiving atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) with or without prior silver diamine fluo-ride (SDF) application. Methods In a randomized controlled trial, preschool children with cavitated dentine caries lesions in their primary teeth were randomly assigned into two groups to receive either application of SDF solution or placebo (tonic water) on the caries lesions 10 weeks before receiving ART restorations. The information on parental sat-isfaction and OHRQoL of the children were collected through self-completed questionnaires at baseline, the 6-month and the 24-month follow-up. A five-point scale, from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied), was used by parents to indi-cate their satisfaction with their child's dental conditions. A higher parental sat-isfaction score indicates that parents were more satisfied with their child's den-tal condition. In addition, the Chinese version of Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) was adopted to assess the children's OHRQoL, and a higher ECOHIS score indicates greater negative impacts of oral health on the child's OHRQoL. Results A total of 194 children participated in this study, with 101 and 93 children re-ceiving SDF and placebo application before ART restorations, respectively. After placement of ART restorations, at 6-month and 24-month follow-up, parental sat-isfaction scores with their child's dental health status were significantly higher compared with those at baseline ( P < .001) indicating the parents were more satisfied at follow-ups. Regarding OHRQoL, no statistically significant changes were found in the child impact section (CIS), family impact section (FIS) and to-tal ECOHIS scores in both study groups at the 6-month follow-up. In contrast, at the 24-month follow-up, the CIS ( P = .025) and total ECOHIS scores ( P = .015) of the children in the control group were significantly higher than those at baseline (greater negative impacts), but not the FIS score.Conclusion In this study, after one-off placement of ART restorations irre-spective of prior SDF application, short-term and long-term parental satisfaction with their child's dental health status was improved, but not the children's OHRQoL.

Automated summary

This study investigated the short-term and long-term changes in parental satisfaction and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children after receiving atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) with or without prior silver diamine fluoride (SDF) application. The results showed that regardless of prior SDF application, both the short-term and long-term parental satisfaction with their child's dental health status improved after one-off placement of ART restorations. However, there were no significant changes in the children's OHRQoL.