Prevalence of Early Tooth Loss in Children from Riverside Populations of the Amazon Region

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of early tooth loss in children of riverside communities living in the Amazon region of Brazil. Methods: This study was an epidemiological survey conducted on 112 children aged 3 to 9 years living in two communities, Sao Pedro and Aura, in the State of Para, Brazil. The data were collected by clinical examination and recorded on custom-made forms designed for this research and later submitted to descriptive analysis. In order to study the frequency of early teeth loss in relation to community, gender and dentition, the Chi- Square test was used at a 5% significance level (p less than 0.05). Results: The prevalence of early tooth loss was 18%, occurring in 19.23% of the children in Aura and 14.71% of the children in Sao Pedro. It was observed that the loss was greater among males (26%) than females (11.29%), and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.04). In relation to the teeth, there were 27 loss cases, with the highest prevalence of tooth loss for the teeth 75 (primary mandibular left second molar) and 85 (primary mandibular right molar) both with 18.52%. There was a higher prevalence of loss at the ages of 7 (27.27%) and 8 (29.41%), the dental caries being the prevailing cause of loss. As a result of the early tooth loss, the most frequently observed result was the loss of space (43.18%), whereas the least observed was the presence of crossbite (4.55%). Conclusion: Although the prevalence of tooth loss was excessively high, it may be reduced through public policies directed to riverside communities, mainly with educational and preventive actions to avoid problems and consequences that the early tooth loss may cause to the person.