Children with kidney disease experience general health deficiencies that may affect their oral health and consequently their quality of life (QOL). Recent studies show a decreased oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) for adults with kidney disease, but none have looked at a pediatric population. We prospectively administered the validated survey, Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) to assess the OHRQoL for children (8 – 12 year olds) and adolescents (13 – 17 year old) with pediatric kidney disease during their regularly scheduled visits to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital Pediatric Nephrology Clinic between April and September 2017. The OHRQoL between individuals with various stages of chronic kidney disease; on dialysis; or after kidney transplant were compared. Non-English speaking individuals outside of the 8 – 17 year old age range and patients who do not have a legal guardian present were excluded. Medical information was abstracted from the hospital record. Fifty-five patients were enrolled aged 8-18 (14.6+/-2.99) years; 86.7% had seen a dentist within a year of the survey; 45% had at least one parent-reported carious lesion. The normal COHIP score ranges from 0-136 with a lower score relating to OHRQoL. Numbers were small but there did not appear to be a significant difference in the COHIP scores of CKD vs transplant (p 0.25). The mean COHIP score was not significantly different in patients on amlodipine (p 0.12); or patients with parent reported caries experience (p 0.13). We demonstrate the feasibility of the COHIP in pediatric patients with kidney disease. We recommend that clinicians use oral health assessment tools to study on a larger scale the impact of individual treatments to promote the oral health and improve the QOL of pediatric patients with chronic or end-stage renal disease before or after transplant.

CITATION INFORMATION: Verghese P., Sotillo J., Diaz J., Sarwas E. Oral Health Related Quality of Life for Children with Kidney Disease Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

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