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. 2021 Apr;49(2):176-185.
doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12589. Epub 2020 Nov 1.

Oral health and happiness in adolescents: A cohort study

Simone Tuchtenhagen  1 , Fernanda R Ortiz  2 , Thiago M Ardenghi  3 , José L F Antunes  1
Affiliations

Oral health and happiness in adolescents: A cohort study

Simone Tuchtenhagen et al. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the influence of oral health conditions, socioeconomic status and dental care utilization on subjective happiness and identify the factors associated with changes in happiness among adolescents.

Methods: Data were collected in 2012 and 2014. Oral health conditions were evaluated by performing clinical examinations; socioeconomic status and dental care utilization were assessed by using a questionnaire. The participants answered the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11-14 for the evaluation of the impact of these variables on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Happiness was assessed using the Brazilian version of the Subjective Happiness Scale. For longitudinal data analysis, a mixed-effect model of linear regression was used to assess the factors related to happiness and multinomial logistic regression to appraise prospective changes in happiness.

Results: A total of 1134 12-year-old adolescents were examined at baseline (response rate: 93%), and 770 were reevaluated after 2 years (retention rate: 68%). The adolescents who lived in households with lower equivalized income and greater overcrowding, had not visited the dentist in the later 6 months, had a higher number of cavitated carious lesions, and reported a higher impact on OHRQoL in 2012 presented lower happiness levels. Additionally, the adolescents with a higher number of decayed, missing or filled teeth and who reported a higher impact on OHRQoL were more likely to belong to the most unfavourable happiness trajectory categories.

Conclusions: The presence of dental caries, socioeconomic conditions, dental care utilization and OHRQoL influence happiness in adolescents. Having more teeth affected by dental caries and worse self-perception in early adolescence can lead to a decrease in happiness.

Keywords: adolescent; cohort studies; happiness; oral health; quality of life.

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References

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