Publication

Abstract : Objective: To evaluate child-Dental Pain Questionnaire (Child‐ DPQ) as the predictor for caries experience.Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional survey among 10‐15 year old school children of Udupi district, Karnataka. Prior consent from parents and verbal consent from school children was obtained. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the school authorities. The study was approved by the ethics committee of Manipal University. All the eligible school children completed self-administered Child-DPQ followed by clinical examination for dental caries as per the WHO guidelines under natural day light within the school premises. Results: A total of 306 children participated in the study, of them 56.5% were ≤ 12 years old, 58.8% were males, 50.7% were in government school and 54.9 % were from urban areas. Around 45.1% of the children were caries experienced and the mean child-DPQ was significantly higher among caries experienced children than caries free children (p=0.017). The Area Under the Curve (AUC) was 0.567 (p=0.043) and was above the reference line which was suggestive that the curve predicted individuals with disease (caries experience). The optimal cut-off point was considered as 3 points on child –DPQ score with sensitivity of 41.3% and specificity of 70.2% with a positive likelihood ratio of 1.39. Conclusion: The Child–Dental Pain Questionnaire showed to be an acceptable instrument to predict the caries experience among school children.