Knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding hepatitis C virus infection amongst Brazilian dental students.

AIM: Dental health professionals, including dental students, are at high risk of exposure to infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) through occupational percutaneous injuries and eye exposure. Further, fear of HCV infection is associated with discriminatory attitudes. The current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge about HCV infection amongst dental students and their attitudes towards patients infected with HCV. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst 340 Brazilian dental students from two public universities using an instrument containing information regarding demographic characteristics, knowledge of HCV and attitudes towards patients with HCV infection. Descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, Student's t-tests, Mann-Whitney U-test and multiple logistic regression (MLR) were carried out (P < 0.05 was considered significant). RESULTS: Response rate was 90% (n = 306), and more than half (54%, n = 165) of participants had high knowledge level (above the mean); 97.7% (n = 299) demonstrated positive attitudes. MLR showed that high knowledge of dental students regarding HCV was substantially influenced by advancement in year of study (last year; P < 0.001) and type of university (federal; P = 0.049). Positive attitude towards HCV-infected patients was mainly influenced by age (P = 0.004) and male gender (P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated a satisfactory knowledge about HCV infection amongst dental students, but some gaps were observed, suggesting the importance of continuous education about HCV in this population to prevent HCV infection as well as discrimination and prejudice towards patients with hepatitis C.

Factors affecting intention to breastfeed of a group of Brazilian childbearing women.

BACKGROUND: Knowing the intention of mothers is important to plan actions to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates. AIM: The objective of this retrospective study was to verify the intention to breastfeed and the intended breastfeeding duration of a group of women participating in a public prenatal dental care program in the city of Araçatuba, Brazil. METHODS: The records of 933 childbearing women were analyzed and their intention to breastfeed and intended breastfeeding duration were associated to women's age, ethnicity, marital status, education, employment, number of gestations, previous breastfeeding experience, previous breastfeeding guidance, presence of complications during pregnancy, and systemic diseases. Data were inserted into Epi Info 2000 and analyzed with Biostat, at a 5% level of significance, and confidence interval of 95%. FINDINGS: Participants mean age was 26.1±5.9years. The majority of women (96.5%) declared their intention to breastfeed their babies. The main variables to affect the intention to breastfeed were the number of gestations (p=0.001), previous breastfeeding experience (p=0.03), and previous breastfeeding guidance (p=0.01). Intended breastfeeding duration was significantly affected by women's age (p=0.04), employment (0.02), the number of gestations (p=0.001), and previous breastfeeding experience (p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Previous positive breastfeeding experience and guidance during prenatal examinations positively affected women's intention to breastfeed; while older, unemployed women in their second or more gestation and previous breastfeeding experience intended to breastfeed their children for longer periods of time.

Access of children to the oral health service.

BACKGROUND: Dental caries still affect a considerable proportion of children, however the epidemiological profile of oral diseases is changing, social inequalities cause different disease patterns. The same problems occur for the use of services, which damage those who are more susceptible to oral diseases in numerous ways. AIM: To verify the association between the variables: socioeconomic condition, oral health and access to dental services providing oral health care for preschool children. METHODS: The study population consisted of 2,759 children up to 6 years-old. The clinical exams followed the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The data were collected using a self-applied questionnaire, answered by the carers of children, with questions about socioeconomic variables and access to dental services. RESULTS: In terms of social class, a majority of the subjects came from the middle socioeconomic level (babies, 84.7%; children, 82.8%). Babies who had caries, 48.4% and 67.2% of the children that had decayed teeth had access to dental service. There was a association between the variables: the reason for the last dental appointment and the parent's perception of the treatment need of their children (babies p=0.0004 and children p < 0.0001); the parent's perception of the treatment need of their children and the oral health condition (babies p=0.0008 and children p < 0.0001); access to dental services and oral health condition (babies p=0.0021 and children p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The majority of the population studied sought care from public dental service and was from the middle class.

Risk factors in the mother-child relationship that predispose to the development of early childhood caries.

AIM: This study focused on the risk factors in mother-child relationship that predispose babies to the development of dental caries. METHODS: A prospective cohort study with 80 mother-child pairs was conducted. The mothers responded at 12, 18 and 30 months after their children's birth, to questions about variables related to diet, sucking habits, and oral care. Children were clinically examined to verify caries lesions (white spot lesions or cavitation). Data were analysed using Chi squared or Fisher's exact tests. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: Of the total, 3.75% showed cavitated lesions after 18 months; 6.25 and 45% had spot white lesions, respectively, at 18 and 30 months. The cariogenic diet was high at 12 (63.75%) and 30 (88.75%) months. Good oral hygiene was present in a minority of children at 12 months (46.25%), but increased at 30 months (65%), helping to prevent cavities and white spot lesions over this period (p = 0.0005). The variables of the blocks sucking habits and diet were not associated with caries. CONCLUSION: The lack of oral care in children was a risk factor for dental caries development.

Prevalence of deciduous tooth erosion in childhood.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of deciduous tooth erosion and to identify possible associations with sex, age and toothbrushing frequency in children aged 4-6 years. METHODS: The sample was drawn from attendants (n = 7058) of 57 public preschools in a Brazilian city. Tooth wear index was used to evaluate erosion. Descriptive statistical analysis consisted of the calculation of the prevalence of dental erosion; chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were performed to verify the association between dental erosion and sex, age and toothbrushing frequency. RESULTS: Two thousand and seven hundred and fifty-nine preschool students were examined. Deciduous tooth erosion was observed in 0.6% of children and its incidence did not differ between sexes. The highest prevalence was observed in children aged 6 years (58.3%) and the most affected sextants were the fourth (22.86%) and sixth (20.00%), indicating that lingual and occlusal tooth surfaces were most frequently involved. The degree of involvement was classified as incipient in 54.29% of children and moderate in 45.71%. The significance level was set at 5%. No association was found between erosion and sex, age or toothbrushing frequency. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of deciduous tooth erosion was low in Brazilian children, and this disorder is not considered a public health problem in this part of the population.