Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and its association with dental treatment needs of adolescents in a rural Nigerian community

Aim: To validate and determine the applicability of OHIP-14 in assessing the impact of unmet dental treatment needs on the quality of life of adolescents in a rural community. Methods: The OHIP-14 questionnaire and the Aesthetic component (AC) of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) were data collection instruments in a cross sectional survey among students in a rural community. The reliability and validity of the OHIP-14 as well as the association between it and dental treatment needs including malocclusion was assessed. Data obtained was analyzed using Mann Whitney U Test. Results: The mean age of participants was 14.9 (±1.6) years. The OHIP-14 had acceptable Cronbach alpha value of 0.8. It could discriminate between respondents with or without dental treatment needs due to caries and dental trauma (p <0.001). The OHIP-14 did not differentiate between respondents with or without orthodontic treatment need (p= 0.808). However, significant association existed between being irritable with people and unmet orthodontic treatment needs (p= 0.032). Conclusion: The OHIP-14 is a valid and reliable quality of life assessment tool in young adolescents in this rural community. However, only the social disability domain component discriminated significantly between those with or without orthodontic treatment needs. (AU)

Índice de necessidade de tratamento odontológico: o caso dos índios Xakriabá / Rate of dental treatment needs: the case of the Xakriaba Indians

O presente trabalho, desenvolvido com os índios Xakriabá, em Minas Gerais, teve como objetivo conhecer as necessidades de tratamento odontológico buscando organizar o agendamento dos pacientes para tratamento. Os Agentes Indígenas de Saúde foram treinados por cirurgiões-dentistas para realizarem o levantamento nos domicílios. A população indígena total é de 6.498 habitantes, sendo que 3.686 estão na área de abrangência do Pólo Base Brejo Mata Fome, local onde 61 por cento das pessoas foram examinadas. Os resultados mostraram haver uma população predominantemente jovem, um grande número de pessoas sem necessidade de tratamento e a cárie dentária foi o problema mais prevalente. Espera-se que o levantamento de necessidades venha contribuir para um agendamento no qual as pessoas que apresentam situações mais graves sejam priorizadas, buscando com isso promover a eqüidade.

The present study was developed among Xakriabas Indians in Minas Gerais and aimed at identifying their needs for dental treatment so that patients could be scheduled for treatment. Native health agents were trained by dental-surgeons for conducting the survey in household visits. The total Indian population is of 6.498 inhabitants, 3.686 of these living within the territory of the "Base Mata Fome", where 61 percent of the population was examined. Results showed that the population is mainly young, a great number of individuals presented no need for treatment and dental caries was the most frequent problem. The survey is expected to help in the organization of a schedule that allows giving priority to the more serious cases and promoting equity.