Comparison of the Dmft Index and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in 3 to 6-Year-Old Children with Congenital Heart Disease and Healthy Children

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are conditions that arise from birth and affect the structure and function of the baby's heart. Children with CHD have a higher number of decayed, missing, or filled teeth due to caries (DMFT) and have poorer oral health than healthy children. Most researchers believe that knowledge and attitude about oral hygiene are effective factors in oral health-related behaviors. In addition, psychological factors increase a person's willingness to act to observe hygiene. Therefore, the current study aims to compare the deft index as well as the oral health-related quality of life in children aged 3-6 years with congenital heart disease (CHD) and healthy children.

In this case-control study, 28 children aged 3 to 6 years with CHD and 28 healthy children referred to Toubi Clinic were selected by census sampling method. After obtaining informed consent from the parents, the Childhood Oral Health Impact Index (ECOHIS) was provided to them. This questionnaire contained 13 questions and was classified into two areas: child impact scale (CIS) and family impact scale (FIS). The CIS section had 4 components: disease symptoms (1 question), child performance (4 questions), psychological (2 questions), child's self-confidence and social interactions (2 questions). The FIS section also included areas of parents' concerns (2 questions) and family function (2 questions). In general, the total raw scores of this index ranged from 0-52, which was 0-36 in the CIS section and 0-16 in the FIS section. The higher the final number of the ECOHIS index the more oral health problems and the more inappropriate OHRQOL. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS V.25 software and the Mann-Whitney test.

A total of 56 people participated in this study, of which 24 (42.9%) were girls. The average age of the participants was 4.64 years. Based on the findings of this study, the average dmft index in CHD group children was 6.42 ± 3.27, and in healthy children, this number was 5.92±2.9. The observed differences between the two groups were not statistically significant (P=0.492). The mean score of the CIS section of the questionnaire was 2.57±3.96 in CHD children and 4.64±5.15 in healthy children (P=0.082). In addition, the mean score of the FIS section was 2.5±3.06 in CHD children and 4.4±4.4 in healthy children, which was statistically significant in this study (P=0.026).

In this study, the difference in the dmft index between CHD and healthy children was not statistically significant, but this index was higher in the CHD group. CHD children showed better quality of life related to oral health than healthy children. The quality of life in CHD children can be better than that of healthy children and the higher dmft index in CHD children may be due to the higher number of f and m compared to healthy children, and for this reason, a child with congenital heart disease may experience less dental pain than a healthy child.