Oral health and risk factors for dental caries of low-income scholars enrolled in a full-time study program

Oral health and risk factors for dental caries of scholars

Resumo

Many factors are associated with caries development in children, including the daily environment. Thinking that few studies evaluate oral condition in a full-time educational environment, this study aimed to identify the oral health conditions and risk factors for caries in children enrolled in a public educational program that are in a full-time study program. Data were collected from parents and children aged 3-12 years that were enrolled in the shelter, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The parents answered a questionnaire with socio-demographic, oral hygiene, habits and diet information. The children underwent clinical examinations. The association between children’s caries and: parents education level; socioeconomic status; dental biofilm; hypoplasia, gingival bleeding and malocclusion was performed (Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests; p<0.05). Thirty-eight parents attended the interview. The predominant caregivers were mothers with a high school complete degree and belonging to low income family. From a sample of 350, 38 children (7.27±2.22 years) were examined during nine months. Most of these children were girls (63.2%) in the mixed dentition (69%) and without caries (61.9%). According to caries index, the highest average was found in the primary dentition (dmt-t = 1.20±2.12) while in the permanent one the mean was 0.35±0.86. Biofilm, hypoplasia, gingival bleeding and malocclusion were not associated with caries (p>0.05). The socioeconomics determinants and the risk factors were not considered predisposing factors for caries, which suggest that educational programs of full-time study exerts a positive influence on children’s oral health.