[Access to information about how to prevent oral problems among school children in the public school network]

Contributions of school context to caries on anterior teeth: a multilevel analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether oral health literacy (OHL) and school context are associated with untreated dental caries on the anterior teeth of adolescents.

METHODS

A representative cross-sectional study was conducted with 746 students aging 15 to 19 in the city of Campina Grande, Brazil. The guardians answered a questionnaire addressing sociodemographic data and the absence/presence of private health insurance. Two examiners were trained for the diagnosis of dental caries using the Nyvad criteria and the measurement of OHL using the Brazilian Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (BREALD-30) (Kappa > 0.80). Contextual aspects of the schools were obtained from the 2017 National School Census. Descriptive statistics were conducted, followed by unadjusted and adjusted robust negative binomial regression for complex samples (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

The average number of anterior teeth with untreated caries was 0.95 (SD = 1.77). Among individual factors, the male sex (RR = 1.64; 95%CI: 1.24–2.16), inadequate level of OHL (RR = 2.03; 95%CI: 1.13–1.63), marginal level of OHL (RR = 1.87; 95%CI: 1.05–3.33) and not having private health insurance (RR = 1.34; 95%CI: 1.07–1.68) were associated with untreated caries on anterior teeth. Among school contextual factors, the number of students in the classroom (RR = 2.64; 95%CI: 1.78–3.93), number of public oral health services in the district (RR = 0.14; 95%CI: 0.05–0.39) and average income of the district in which the school is located (RR = 0.99; 95%CI: 0.98–0.99) were associated with the outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Sociodemographic factors, having private health insurance, OHL, and school context exerted an influence on the occurrence of untreated dental caries on anterior teeth in adolescents aging 15 to 19.

Epidemiological pattern of malocclusion in Brazilian preschoolers

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and distribution profile of malocclusion in Brazilian preschoolers and its association with macro-region, housing, gender, and self-reported race. In total, 6,855 children aged five years participating in the National Oral Health Survey (called SB Brasil 2010) were analyzed. Malocclusion was diagnosed according to the Foster and Hamilton index. We conducted descriptive, bivariate and multiple regression analyses (PR/CI95%). We identified that 63.2% of children had at least one of the occlusal problems evaluated: canines' key (22.9%), overjet (32.9%), overbite (34.6%), and posterior crossbite (18.7%) and, thus, were considered with malocclusion. Higher probability of the presence of malocclusion was identified among the residents of the Midwest (1.08/95%CI 1.01-1.15), Northeast (1.21/95%CI 1.14-1.28), Southeast (1.27/95%CI 1.20-1.34) and South (1.34/95%CI 1.26-1.42) regions when compared to residents in the North. It was also higher among female children (1.06/95% CI 1.02-1.09). No associations were identified concerning race and location of the municipality (capital/no capital). A high prevalence of malocclusion was identified in Brazilian preschoolers, and it was associated with gender and the macro-region. These findings may contribute to expanded public policies and greater access to treatment for this population.

[Lack of access to information on oral health problems among adults: an approach based on the theoretical model for literacy in health]

This study sought to investigate factors associated with the lack of access to information on oral health among adults. It is a cross-sectional study, carried out among 831 adults (35-44 years of age). The dependent variable was access to information on how to avoid oral problems, and the independent variables were gathered into subgroups according to the theoretical model for literacy in health. Binary logistic regression was carried out, and results were corrected by the design effect. It was observed that 37.5% had no access to information about dental problems. The lack of access was higher among adults who had lower per capita income, were dissatisfied with the dental services provided, did not use dental floss, had unsatisfactory physical control of the quality of life, and self-perceived their oral health as fair/poor/very poor. The likelihood of not having access to information about dental problems among those dissatisfied with the dental services used was 3.28 times higher than for those satisfied with the dental services used. Thus, decreased access to information was related to unfavorable conditions among adults. Health services should ensure appropriate information to their users in order to increase health literacy levels and improve satisfaction and equity.

Is there an association between the presence of dental fluorosis and dental trauma amongst school children?

Our objective was to evaluate whether there is an association with the different levels of dental fluorosis and the presence of dental trauma amongst school children. A transversal study was conducted amongst school children from the age of 12. Dental examinations were conducted by 24 well trained and fully qualified dental surgeons. Data was collected from 36 randomly selected public schools amongst 89 schools in a municipality. The criteria used to diagnose dental fluorosis was based on the Dean's fluorosis Index and for diagnosing dental trauma we looked for clinical signs of crown fractures and dental avulsions. Multiple descriptive analysis, which was bivariate, was carried out. Amongst the 2,755 school children that took part in the study 1,089 (39.6%) were diagnosed with dental fluorosis and 106 (3.8%) had one tooth or more with dental trauma. We noted a high prevalence of dental fluorosis, independent of the level of severity, amongst individuals with one tooth or more who had dental trauma. This association was even more evident where there were severely high levels of fluorosis. We also noted that the presence of fluorosis was greater amongst those that actively paid more attention to discoloration on their teeth and who received treatment from a dental professional at their schools. Nevertheless dental fluorosis was associated with the presence of dental trauma, independent of its severity.

Access to information on how to avoid oral health problems among elderly persons registered with the Family Health Strategy

Objectives : To identify the level of access to information regarding how to prevent oral health problems among the elderly, and verify if such levels were higher among members of households registered with the Family Health Strategy Program. Methods : An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted of a probabilistic complex sample of elderly (65-74 years old) members of the population of a large city. The level of access was estimated with adjustment for the design effect, as well as the magnitudes of association. Descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression (OR/CI95%) analysis was performed. Variables related to personal determinants, health services, health-related behavior and health outcomes were considered. Results : Of the 490 participants, 53.4% reported they had access to information about how to prevent oral health problems. This access was higher among elderly persons living in a household registered with the Family Health Strategy Program (2.04/1.14-3.67), and who had at least five years of schooling (2.53/1.67-3.83), regularly used dental services (1.84/1.07-3.17), did not smoke either now or in the past (1.79/1.13-2.82), did not suffer from chronic diseases (2.14/1.34-3.42) and had not suffered social impacts because of their oral health conditions (1.77/1.08-2.91). Conclusion : Most of the elderly persons had access to information about how to prevent oral health problems, with such access being greater among those registered with the Family Health Strategy Program.