Oral health-related quality of life among adolescents suspected of experiencing physical or sexual abuse: a cross-sectional comparative study in Norway

Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adole sc ents suspected of experiencing physical or sexual abuse has been sparsely described. This study aimed to compare OHRQoL between adolescents suspected of experiencing child abuse and a comparison group of adolescents attending routine examinations in the Public Dental Service (PDS). A secondary aim was to compare the OHRQoL between adolescents suspected of experiencing physical versus sexual abuse. A total of 258 adolescents aged 12–15 years were included: 113 adolescents referred to three Norwegian Children’s Houses (CHs) and 145 adolescents attending routine examinations within the Public Dental Service (PDS), which served as the comparison group. OHRQoL was assessed using the Child Oral Impact on Daily Performance (C-OIDP) index, which measures oral impacts on daily performances. Categorical variables were compared using chi-square tests. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between group (CH vs. PDS) and dichotomized oral impacts on daily performances, adjusting for age and sex. Robust regression was used to examine associations with the C-OIDP sum score. After controlling for age and sex, multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that adolescents from the CH group were 2.61 times more likely to report oral impacts on one or more of the eight daily life performances compared with those from the PDS group. They also reported statistically significantly greater oral impacts on seven of the eight daily life performances. Robust regression analysis adjusted for age and sex confirmed the main analyses and showed that C-OIDP sum scores was significantly higher in the CH group than in the PDS comparison group. For the CH group only, our data did not reveal any statistically significant associations between OHRQoL and suspected physical versus sexual abuse. Our findings indicate that adolescents suspected of experiencing physical or sexual abuse reported poorer OHRQoL and more pronounced oral impacts on daily performances compared with adolescents attending routine examinations in the PDS comparison group. Adolescents suspected of experiencing abuse may benefit from tailored dental approaches to support their oral health and OHRQoL.