Evaluation of Oral Health and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Adenoid Hypertrophy

Background/Objectives: Adenoid hypertrophy (AH), one of the most common pathologies in children, is a major cause of mouth breathing. Mouth breathing causes dry mouth, which removes the beneficial effects of saliva necessary for oral health. Therefore, an oral microflora favorable to caries is promoted. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the oral health of children diagnosed with AH between the ages of 3 and 14 and to determine the early childhood oral health impact scale. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted between November 2019 and November 2020, involving 16 boys and 14 girls diagnosed with AH at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University. These children, diagnosed with adenoid hypertrophy, were referred to the Department of Pedodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ataturk University, for the evaluation of their oral health prior to surgery. Oral examinations were performed on the pediatric participants under dental unit light by the same pedodontist, and their demographic data and DMFT/dmft scores were recorded. Data for the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS-T) were obtained from volunteers with communication skills and their parents. SPSS 21.0 software was used in the statistical evaluation of the data. A Chi-square test was used to assess differences between groups. Results: The mean age of the children was 5.9 ± 2.6 years. There was no statistically significant difference between AH grades 2, 3, and 4 in terms of dentition periods, gender, and occlusion (p = 0.177, p = 0.495). The scores of the first nine and last four questions of the ECOHIS-T were found to be higher in children with grade 4 AH (p = 0.011, p = 0.043). The DMFT index was also higher in children with grade 4 AH (p = 0.010). Conclusions: Tooth decay is more prevalent in children with severe adenoid hypertrophy. This condition was also observed to negatively affect their quality of life. Regular check-ups and preventive care are needed to improve the quality of life of these children.