Oral health and self-care in adolescents from different Brazilian regions

Resumo

Introduction: Adolescents present a potential risk for the development of caries and periodontal diseases. Objective: The objective of the present study was to review the indicators of self-care and oral health in brazilian adolescents. Methodology: The search strategy (adolescent AND oral health) AND Brazil* was used in Pubmed and LILACS databases. Articles published between 2012 and 2017 that presented data on self-care and oral health of brazilian adolescents were included in this review. Synthesis of data: 837 and 1375 articles were retrieved from the Pubmed and LILACS databases, respectively. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 7 articles were included. The characteristics of the studies and the data obtained regarding sel-care and oral health of the adolescents were presented descriptively. Most of the studies included adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 years, the majority of whom sought dental care in less than one year of the interview and caries was the most prevalent disease compared to gingival bleeding. Conclusion: According to the indicators of self-care evaluated, the majority of Brazilian adolescents reported having sought dental care in less than one year and caries disease was the most prevalent condition.