Can dental pain be a cause of irritability in children and family distress?

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the association between dental pain and both child irritability and family distress. Subject and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 833 children aged 3 to 5 years from preschools in the city of Campina Grande, Brazil. The parents answered questionnaires addressing socio-demographic data and history of dental pain. Child irritability and family distress were evaluated using questions from the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). The children were submitted to clinical examinations by dentists who had undergone training and calibration exercises. All children were diagnosed with regard to dental caries, caries activity, traumatic dental injury, and malocclusion. Descriptive analysis was performed, followed by Poisson regression analysis (α = 5%). Results: The prevalence of child irritability due to oral problems was 16.1%. The prevalence of family distress was 19.1%. After the data analysis, only a history of dental pain remained associated in the final model for child irritability [prevalence ratio (PR) = 9.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): 6.22–15.33] and family distress due to oral problems (PR = 3.18; 95% CI: 2.34–4.31). Conclusion: Dental pain can make a child irritable and cause family distress. Socio-economic factors do not exert an influence on the emergence of these feelings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]