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Child and adolescent perceptions of oral health over the life course

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Abstract

Purpose

To elicit perceptions of oral health in children and adolescents as an initial step in the development of oral health item banks for the Patient-Reported Oral Health Outcomes Measurement Information System project.

Methods

We conducted focus groups with ethnically, socioeconomically, and geographically diverse youth (8–12, 13–17 years) to identify perceptions of oral health status. We performed content analysis, including a thematic and narrative analysis, to identify important themes.

Results

We identified three unique themes that the youth associated with their oral health status: (1) understanding the value of maintaining good oral health over the life course, with respect to longevity and quality of life in the adult years; (2) positive association between maintaining good oral health and interpersonal relationships at school, and dating, for older youth; and (3) knowledge of the benefits of orthodontic treatment to appearance and positive self-image, while holding a strong view as to the discomfort associated with braces.

Conclusions

The results provide valuable information about core domains for the oral health item banks to be developed and generated content for new items to be developed and evaluated with cognitive interviews and in a field test.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by an NIDCR/NIH grant to the University of California, Los Angeles (U01DE022648). We would like to acknowledge Dr. Suzanne Berger and Ms. Audrey Simons for their assistance in both developing our sample and providing the space for the focus groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Public Health and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Carl A. Maida, Marvin Marcus, Ian D. Coulter, Yan Wang, Jie Shen, Vladimir W. Spolsky, James J. Crall & Honghu Liu

  2. Division of Oral Biology and Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Carl A. Maida

  3. Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Ron D. Hays

  4. Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Ron D. Hays & Honghu Liu

  5. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, 90401, USA

    Ron D. Hays & Ian D. Coulter

  6. Section of Pediatric Dentistry, Division of Growth and Development, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Francisco Ramos-Gomez & Patricia S. McClory

  7. Division of Constitutive and Regenerative Sciences, Section of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Steve Y. Lee

  8. School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Laura V. Van

  9. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Yan Wang & Honghu Liu

  10. Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Li Cai

Authors
  1. Carl A. Maida
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  2. Marvin Marcus
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  3. Ron D. Hays
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  5. Francisco Ramos-Gomez
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  6. Steve Y. Lee
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  7. Patricia S. McClory
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  8. Laura V. Van
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  9. Yan Wang
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  10. Jie Shen
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  11. Li Cai
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  12. Vladimir W. Spolsky
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  13. James J. Crall
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  14. Honghu Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carl A. Maida.

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Maida, C.A., Marcus, M., Hays, R.D. et al. Child and adolescent perceptions of oral health over the life course. Qual Life Res 24, 2739–2751 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1015-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1015-6

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