Socioeconomic and clinical factors associated with traumatic dental injuries in Brazilian preschool children

Chaiana Piovesan,Thiago Machado Ardenghi,Renata Saraiva Guedes,Luciano Casagrande

doi:10.1590/s1806-83242012000500014

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to assess the epidemiology of traumatic dental injury (TDI) in preschool children and its relation to socioeconomic and clinical factors. This study was carried out in Santa Maria, Brazil, during National Children's Vaccination Day, and 441 children aged 12 to 59 months were included. Data about socioeconomic status were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to parents. Calibrated examiners evaluated the prevalence of TDI, overjet, and lip coverage. Data were analyzed with a Poisson regression model (PR; 95% confidence intervals). The TDI prevalence was 31.7%. The maxillary central incisors were the most frequently traumatized teeth. The most common TDI was enamel fracture. No association was found between TDI prevalence and the socioeconomic status of children. After adjustments were performed, the eldest children with an overjet > 3 mm were more likely to have TDI than their counterparts. The data indicated a high prevalence of TDI. Only overjet was a strong predictor for TDI, whereas socioeconomic factors were not associated with TDI in this age group.

Highlights

A high prevalence of traumatic dental injury (TDI) has been reported in many countries
Several recent studies have assessed the prevalence of TDI in primary teeth and its associations with socioeconomic indicators, the results have been inconsistent and conflicting.[5,6,7,8,9,10]
Reasons for non-participation were mainly due to children who were not accompanied by their parents on the day of vaccination, and only a few refused to provide their consent

Summary

Introduction

A high prevalence of traumatic dental injury (TDI) has been reported in many countries. Most studies of TDI have reported its prevalence in permanent teeth.[1,2,3,4] several recent studies have assessed the prevalence of TDI in primary teeth and its associations with socioeconomic indicators, the results have been inconsistent and conflicting.[5,6,7,8,9,10]. Previous studies have demonstrated that there is a tendency for children with an incisal overjet > 3 mm and inadequate lip coverage to experience more dental injuries.[8,9] while the association between overjet, lip coverage, and TDI is well established, the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the occurrence of dental

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Conclusion