Abstract
BackgroundDespite advancements in oral health policies, dental caries still a problem. The lack of parents/caregiver’s care regarding child’s oral health, which characterizes neglect, may lead to a high prevalence of caries. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the relation between dental caries and neglect in five year-old children.MethodsQuantitative study performed in two different moments. First, the children underwent oral examinations and physical inspection. Then, a semi-structured interview was performed with parents of children with high and low caries rate.ResultsIn all, 149 physical inspections and oral exams were performed. The number of decayed, missing and filled teeth – dmf-t was 2.75 (SD 2.83); 16 children had extremely high values (dmf-t ≥7), 85 intermediate values (1 ≤ dmf-t ≥ 6) and 48 extremely low (dmf-t = 0). Nearly all caregivers were female (96.7%; n = 29), mostly mothers (93.3%; n = 28). Associations were found between caries experience and reason of the last consultation (p = 0.011), decayed teeth and child’s oral health perception (p = 0.001). There was a trend towards a significant association between general health and decayed teeth (p = 0.079), general hygiene and caries experience (p = 0.083), and caries experience and number of times the child brushes the teeth (p = 0.086).ConclusionThere’s a relation between caries experience and children’s oral health perception by caregivers, as well as between caries experience and children’s access to dental care. There is a trend towards association between caries experience and risk factors suggestive of neglect.
Highlights
Despite advancements in oral health policies, dental caries still a problem
Despite the potential association between the prevalence of dental caries and neglect, little is known about the relation between them, which is the main objective of this research
All 5 year-old children from Pacoti city underwent oral examinations according to the criteria of SBBRASIL Project, and physical inspection, according to criteria of the Detection and Prevention of Child Abuse, a component of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) [13]
Summary
Despite advancements in oral health policies, dental caries still a problem. The lack of parents/ caregiver’s care regarding child’s oral health, which characterizes neglect, may lead to a high prevalence of caries. Despite the great advancements in oral health policies, caries disease is still a severe problem that hinders such development [2]. Among the factors associated with the high prevalence of caries in infants is the lack of caregiver’s care concerning child’s oral health [2,3], which characterizes a neglect act [4]. Despite the potential association between the prevalence of dental caries and neglect, little is known about the relation between them, which is the main objective of this research. Caregivers must get information and provide the child with preventive and restorative care
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