Abstract
Aim: To evaluate caries experience and associated factors in 5-year-old preschool children in the city of Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, representative study, conducted from an epidemiological oral health survey (2010) with 303 children. The sample was established by the systematic probabilistic method, in public and private schools, in accordance with WHO criteria. The sample was checked for caries experience (dmft) by four trained and calibrated dentists, reaching acceptable levels of agreement for data collection. Parents or guardians answered questions related to their education and monthly income, and the children answered questions related to dental care and pain. Descriptive and bivariate analyses of independent variables were performed. Variables with p 0 (PR=3.76, 95%CI=2.06-6.84) after adjustment of the regression model. Conclusions: Among the preschool children of this study, pain or need for treatment due to caries disease in the primary dentition and the reason to visit the dentist due pain emphasizing the importance of the professional not only in curative actions, but as a health promoter at the first contact with the child.
Highlights
Received for publication: November 25, 2013 Accepted: March 10, 2014Correspondence to: Maria da Luz Rosário de Sousa Universidade Estadual de Campinas Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba Avenida Limeira 901, CEP: 13414-903 Bairro Areão, Piracicaba, SP, BrasilSeveral publications have shown declining trends in caries experience, many researchers studied the factors associated with this decline[1,2,3,4]
Brazil did not show a significant decline according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2000) goals for primary dentition (5 years), which established a minimum proportion of 50% of caries-free teeth[6], and it is far from fulfilling the WHO goal for 2010 of 90% of 5- and 6-year-old children free of caries[7]
The city of Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil, presents a 0.79 Human Development Index (HDI)[8], which is above the Brazilian national average
Summary
Several publications have shown declining trends in caries experience, many researchers studied the factors associated with this decline[1,2,3,4]. The city of Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil, presents a 0.79 Human Development Index (HDI)[8], which is above the Brazilian national average. This HDI denotes a situation not usually observed in other Brazilian cities regarding health indicators. Dental caries is a multifactorial disease caused by oral bacteria mediated by dietary carbohydrates, but income and education, which are both considered on HDI determination, might have an influence on caries’ etiological factors
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