A review of the instruments for measuring Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in children

ABSTRACT

The introduction of the measurement of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) into a comprehensive assessment is highly significant, since it provides essential information by considering the treatment needs of each individual and population from their own perspective. Likewise, it is an important tool for the assessment of interventions, services and public health programs, especially those aimed at children and adolescents, since they are one of the main objective groups of the dental services. The aim of this paper is to review the main available instruments for measuring OHRQoL, especially in children. Measuring quality of life according to the oral health status is subjective, since it is influenced by different factors that cannot be observed in a direct manner. These instruments were developed for that purpose and repre-sent dimensions that seek to value the personal psychosocial perception of each individual. Several health problems affect the QoL of children and adolescents, including DDQ, Michigan OH, OH-ECQOL, SOHO-5, ECOHIS, Child-DPQ, Child-OHIP, Child-OIDP, CPQ8-10, CPQ11-14, DFTO, IFAQ, MIQ, P-CPQ, PedsQ1 OH, POQL, among others