RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Children's Experiences of Dental Anxiety Measure (CEDAM-14) is a child-centred measure of dental anxiety which assesses a range of behaviours, thoughts and feelings/physical symptoms related to dental anxiety. A short form of the CEDAM-14, which places less time burden on patients and clinicians, could promote the feasibility and applicability of the CEDAM in clinical settings. The aim of the study was to develop a short version of the CEDAM that can be used to assess children's dental anxiety in clinical practice. METHODS: A short version of the CEDAM was developed using a combination of item impact and regression methods. Measurement properties including floor/ceiling effects, variance, criterion validity, construct validity and internal consistency was calculated for the short form. RESULTS: An eight-item CEDAM short form was developed (CEDAM-8) that had good psychometric properties, was significantly correlated with the CEDAM measure (r = 0.90; p < 0.01), had minimal floor and ceiling effects (3.5% and 1.2%, respectively) and was sensitive to change. CONCLUSION: The CEDAM-8 is a useful assessment tool for clinicians that is easy and quick to administer and could help to understand children's experiences of dental anxiety and changes in anxiety over time and following intervention.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Dental injuries occur commonly in childhood and may necessitate demanding courses of treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate a variety of clinical and demographic factors that may influence the quality of life impacts experienced by children after a dental injury. METHOD: A total of 244 children who attended a UK dental hospital, for management of traumatised permanent incisors, were invited to participate in the study. Clinical, demographic and psychosocial variables were collected at baseline, and outcome variables were assessed again at a 6-month follow up. Clinical variables included number of teeth injured; severity of the dental injury; visibility of the injury; time since injury; and number of dental appointments attended within the hospital. Psychosocial outcomes assessed included children's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). RESULTS: One hundred and eight children participated in the baseline study (44% response rate), and of this group of children, a total of 70 children completed follow-up questionnaires (65% response rate). The results indicated that the most affected areas of children's OHRQoL and HRQoL were functional limitations and school-related activities, respectively. Of all the demographic and clinical variables, which were investigated within the current study, the only variable that significantly predicted OHRQoL and HRQoL for children was gender. Boys were found to report fewer impacts on their OHRQoL and HRQoL than girls. Interestingly, over two-thirds of children reported fewer impacts at the 6-month follow up. CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed that girls were more likely to report higher level of impacts on their OHRQoL and HRQoL than boys following traumatic injury to their permanent incisors. Clinical variables were not significant predictors of child quality of life outcomes following dento-alveolar trauma at baseline or at the 6-month follow up.
