Background: Dental features have been considered a potential target of verbal bullying (VB) among school-aged children. The authors conducted a study to investigate the association between the presence of oral disorders and the occurrence of VB among 8- through 10-year-old school-aged children.
Methods: The study included 445 school-aged children 8 through 10 years old. VB was verified by a specific validated question from the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 8-10 index. Oral disorders such as untreated caries, fluorosis, clinical consequences of untreated caries, and malocclusion were evaluated. The Pearson χ2 test and bivariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses were used for statistical analysis.
Results: A total of 390 school-aged children completed the study. The results of the multivariate logistic regression model showed that a severe malocclusion (odds ratio [OR], 2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 5.10), a greater maxillary misalignment (OR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.05 to 4.73), and the presence of a tooth with pulp exposure (OR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.58 to 5.45) were significantly associated with the occurrence of VB.
Conclusion: Children aged 8 through 10 years with a severe malocclusion, larger maxillary misalignment, or the presence of pulp exposure had increased odds of experiencing VB compared with children without those oral health conditions.
Practical implications: Once oral disorders involved in VB are identified, appropriate approaches should be used to address this issue. With this course of action, oral health care professionals may use the treatment and preventive care to eliminate potential factors for peer aggression.
Keywords: Oral health; bullying; malocclusion; quality of life.
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