Perception of the condition of oral health in the quality of life in schoolchildren from 8 to 10 years of age in rural Peru

Objective: to evaluate the perception of oral health conditions in the quality of life in schoolchildren from 8 to 10 years of age in a Peruvian rural area. Method: this research was descriptive, observational, cross-sectional and prospective. A questionnaire was applied to schoolchildren from 8 to 10 years old, the sampling frame consisted of 110 children and the sampling was non-probabilistic according to the investigator's criteria: schoolchildren who at the time of evaluation were in good health, agreed to participate voluntarily and whose parents have signed the informed consent; In addition, those schoolchildren who at the time of the oral examination had acute dental pain and those who had been diagnosed with a systemic disease were excluded. Results: 68.2% of the schoolchildren stated that they perceived that oral health affects the quality of life, of these, 57.3% were female; In the dimension of oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional well-being and social well-being, the perceptions that stood out were dental pain (0.93±1.1), sleep problems (0.88±1.1), feeling angry/upset because of the appearance of the teeth (0.92±1.0) and they feel difficulty paying attention in class because of a problem with the teeth (0.88±1.0) respectively. Conclusion: Most of the 8–10-year-old children perceived that the oral health condition affects the quality of life and the questions that showed the most affectation in the quality of life of the children were dental pain, anger at because of the experience of cavities, sadness and shame due to the appearance of the teeth and indicated that they avoid participating in class due to dental problems.