Oral health-related quality of life and associated factors of Chinese adolescents in Foshan City / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate oral health related quality of life and associated factors of adolescents between 12 and 15 years old, and to provide countermeasures and suggestions for oral health promotion of adolescents.@*Methods@#This cross-sectional study recruited 3 840 adolescents aged 12-15 through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method. The oral clinical examination and oral health questionnaire were conducted. Descriptive analysis, non-parametric testing and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the oral health-related quality of life and associated factors.@*Results@#Oral problems showed moderate to severe impact on quality of life,especially on eating (27.1%). Ordinal Logistic regression analysis showed that low sugar intake frequency, few teeth with gingival bleeding, no history of dental pain in the past 12 months,no history of tooth injuries, and administrative region of residence (Nanhai, Shunde) were associated with higher oral health-related quality of life,(OR=0.6-0.8，P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#The oral health-related quality of life of adolescents in Foshan was slightly better than the average national level. It is recommended to accurately formulate and ensure the full implementation of oral public health measures based on the comprehensive analysis of the local area, and combine various efforts to strengthen education on reducing excessive intake of sugar, prevent gingival bleeding, relieve and treat toothache in time, pay attention to adolescents with histories of dental trauma, and update the concepts of receiving oral health examination for the adolescents themselves, parents and teachers, and help adolescents develop the habit of regular oral examinations.