Dental caries is very common in pre-school children. Difficulties in eating caused by untreated dental caries can directly and endocrine responses caused by chronic dental infections can indirectly impair growth. The interruption of sleep due to dental pain and infection may lead to impairment of growth hormone secretion. The aim of this study is to compare growth, sleep related difficulties, oral health related quality of life in preschool children with pain and inflammation due to dental caries before and after treatment with their peers without dental pain and inflammation. A total of 45 pre-school children (aged 3-6 years), 22 boys and 23 girls, with no systemic disease were included in our study with parental consent. A study group with dental caries that had pulpal involvement and a control group without dental caries that had pulpal involvement was formed using ICDAS II and dmft index. Serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels and anthropometric measurements were obtained before and 6 months after treatment in the study group. In the control group, anthropometric measurements (height SDS, weight SDS, BMI SDS) were taken both at the first examination and in the 6 months after the first examination, while serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels were obtained only at the first examination. Sleep disturbances were measured using The Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and oral health related quality of life was measured using Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) before the treatment, 7 days after, and 6 months after treatment in study group; at first examination and 6 months after in control group. Student t test, Mann Whitney U test, Pearson correlation test and Spearman's rho correlation test were used for statistical analysis. p<0,05 was set for statistical significance. There was no significant difference in anthropometric measurements between the study and control groups before treatment (p> 0,05). The anthropometric measurements of the study group 6 months after the treatment were significantly higher than the baseline (p <0.05). While serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels were significantly higher in the study group than the control group before the treatment, a significant rise in the serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels 6 months after the treatment in the study group was detected (p <0.05). While CSHQ and ECOHIS scores were significantly higher in the study group than in the control group at baseline; total scores of CSHQ and ECOHIS of the study group were significantly lower than from baseline at 7 days and 6 months after (p <0.05). No significant correlation was found between CSHQ scores and anthropometric measurements and serum IGF-1, IGFBP-3. Children's growth parameters (anthropometric measurements, serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels), sleep problems and oral health related quality of life improved after the elimination of pain and inflammation due to dental caries. However, our findings did not confirm that the indirect effect theory. Direct effect theory related growth impairment seems to be more plausiable.

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