ABSTRACT

Aim: There is scientific evidence that there is correlation between socioeconomic status and oral health integrity, more specifically children affected by dental caries have a reduced quality of life This research will thus shed light on the factors proving this correlation between the oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) of their young children and parental socioeconomic status that is backed up by their occupation, income, and educational level.

Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that collected the oral health information for children from their parents in different areas of Riyadh City. The study comprised parents from different areas in Riyadh City who were enrolled through simple random sampling technique. Sample Size of 350 was estimated using online Raosoft® sample size calculator based on acceptable margin error of 5%, confidence level of 95%.

Results: overall ECOHIS score showed significant differences across the educational levels of mother (F=4.668, P = 0.003) and father (F=2.821, P = 0.039). However, child impact score (F=0.717, P = 0.581), family impact score (F=0.930, P = 0.447) and overall ECOHIS scores (F=0.900, P = 0.465) did not differ significantly across the various employment categories of mothers

Conclusion: Parental socioeconomic conditions have a direct influence on OHRQoL of their children measured on ECOHIS. These factors should be attentively addressed when planning oral health promotion interventions for the Saudi Arabian population. Based on our study, these strategies should take into account socially and financially disadvantaged groups along with oral health behaviors and clinical variables.