Association of gingivitis with children oral health-related quality of life in Lucknow: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Gingivitis is codified as the most familiar oral disease in children and teenagers. Several studies reported that most of the children and adolescents have negative impact on quality of life (QoL) due to gingivitis or destructive periodontal disease or poor oral health status. Existing literature in this context on Indian population is sparse. Hence, this study has been shouldered to find out possible coalition between gingivitis and COHRQoL. Objective: This study desires to evaluate the confederation of gingivitis and child oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL) among school children of Lucknow. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in school going children with the age group of 11-14 years, with a representative sample of 400 students in Lucknow city. For data on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), a predesigned questionnaire (CPQ11-14) was used for demographic information and questions on oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional, and social well-being. Gingival status was evaluated by Gingival index (Loe and Silness 1963). Results: QoL was found to be moderately affected in children with severe gingivitis as compared with children with no gingivitis, mild, and moderate gingivitis, but this difference was found to be statistically nonsignificant (P = 0.896). Conclusion: The present findings indicated that the existence of substantial levels of gingivitis might be fatalistically related with how children perceive their oral health and daily life.