Abstract Background and Objective:Children with hearing impairment may be at increased risk of oral and dental problems and reduced oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) due to communication limitations and difficulties in accessing oral health education. This study aimed to assess oral health-related quality of life among children with hearing impairment. Materials and Methods:This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 6–12-year-old children attending special schools for children with hearing impairment in Yazd, Iran, in2026. Participants were selected using a census sampling method. The Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale(ECOHIS) questionnaire was completed by the children’s parents at home to assess their OHRQoL. Data were analyzed by SPSS26 and Mann–Whitney, Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results: The study included the parents of 42girls and 28boys with hearing impairment. Among the children, 44 had hearing loss and 26 were deaf. According to parental reports, 73.4% of the children had decayed teeth, 62.9% had restored teeth, and 45.7% had a history of tooth extraction. The mean OHRQoL score was 29.42 ± 10.21. A significant positive correlation was found between children’s age and the mean OHRQoL score (rₛ = 0.327,
P= 0.006). No statistically significant association was observed between the mean ECOHIS score and sex, age group, severity of hearing impairment, or type of hearing impairment (P>0.05). Conclusion:Oral health status may affect OHRQoL in children with hearing impairment. Increasing age was associated with poorer OHRQoL, whereas sex, type, and severity of hearing impairment did not have a significant effect on children’s OHRQoL.
soltanianzadeh M, sajedi S, motavally H, saeadabadi N. بررسی کیفیت زندگی مرتبط با سلامت دهان در کودکان با اختلال شنوایی. J Res Dent Sci 2026; 23 (4) :300-310 URL: http://jrds.ir/article-1-1659-en.html