Percepção e práticas de cuidadores de lares de infância e juventude sobre saúde bucal no município de Belém, Brasil

Abstract

Children who are not part of a socially structured family deserve special attention regarding oral health care.Investigating notions of care and hygiene practices of caregivers becomes essential for understanding the quality ofcharitable assistance provided in shelters. Thus, this study evaluated oral health knowledge and practices of sheltercaregivers based on education and oral health activities. The sample consisted of caregivers associated with thefour unique public institutions for social support of children and adolescents in the city of Belem, PA, Brazil. Datawere collected through a questionnaire covering basic notions of oral health and dental care and were subjectedto statistical analysis using the Chi-squared test and Fisher’s exact test, adopting α = 0.05. The results indicated anassociation between the variables “prior instruction in brushing techniques” and “oral health promotion” (p= 0.011),showing a higher frequency of brushing guidance among caregivers who had previously received instructions on suchtechniques and between the variables “education level” and “development of oral health activities” (p= 0.0461). Thisrevealed that access to higher education implied a greater promotion of oral health activities. Therefore, it was possibleto verify that the caregivers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to oral health are correlated, and havingeducational knowledge and attitudes are favorable indicators for health promotion practices.