Caries indicators in relation to healthcare access and hygienic-dietary habits in Spanish preschoolers.

INTRODUCTION: Dental caries continues to be a public healthcare problem due to its high prevalence and morbidity. It was proposed to evaluate caries indicators in relation to healthcare access and hygienic-dietary habits in Spanish preschoolers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on a random sample consisting of 343 patients ranging from 3 to 5 years of age in the primary care setting, the main measurements were: dental care access, hygienic-dietary habits, and caries registration according to WHO criteria. RESULTS: The prevalence of caries was 35.3% and mean ± standard deviation (SD) dft was 1.51 ± 2.93. Preschoolers who had ever visited the dentist had a higher dft occurrence than those who had never attended the dentist. The lower prevalence of caries was significantly associated with the frequency of two daily brushings versus non-daily brushing (p = 0.007; 25.3% vs. 47.1%) and was 10.7% lower in patients who had the habit of night brushing (p = 0.041). The consumption of sugary liquids between meals implied a higher dft index. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of early childhood caries and the dental care access associated with poor oral health suggest the need to implement a multidisciplinary oral healthcare program that involves both healthcare and dental healthcare professionals in Primary Health Care Units without forgetting the participation of the community and local administrations.

Relevance of Sociocultural Inequalities and Parents' Origins in Relation to the Oral Health of Preschoolers in Lanzarote, Spain.

Approaching inequalities to achieve health equity requires joint action. Early childhood caries affects disadvantaged population groups. The objective of this study was to determine the relevance of sociocultural inequalities and parental origin with respect to oral health in preschool children in Lanzarote. A transversal epidemiological study was carried out. Sociocultural data and information about parental origin were collected via a questionnaire. The decayed and filled teeth (dft), decayed teeth (dt), filled teeth (ft), restorative index (RI), plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were obtained via an investigator's examination. Statistical analysis of the data indicated that children of semi-skilled manual workers (28.15%) had the highest prevalence of caries (46.9%). Additionally 43.7 of the mothers had second grade and first cycle studies. When relating the medium and high level of education, there were statistically significant differences in relation to the cod index (p = 0.046). When the origin was foreign (48.4%), preschoolers presented 10.7% more active or untreated caries than Spaniards (p = 0.038). Low socioeconomic cultural level and foreign origin is associated with a more deficient state of oral health in preschoolers. Oral health programs are needed to minimize social inequalities.

Prevalence of traumatic injuries in deciduous dentition and associated risk factors in a Spanish children population.

BACKGROUND: The frequency of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in primary dentition and those agents that favor them present a great variability. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of TDI in a population of Spanish preschoolers in temporary dentition and identify the factors associated with these injuries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An epidemiological observational prevalence study was carried out. A total of 343 children aged between 3 and 5 years were selected. A questionnaire was completed in relation to socioeconomic factors, cultural level, dietary habits and oral parafunction. Through an intraoral examination, information was collected on the occlusal characteristics and the presence of TDI. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS Statistics 25.0 program for Windows, using the descriptive and frequencies procedure, contingency tables, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of TDI in the total sample was 12.2%. The most frequent lesion was crown discoloration (0.4%) followed by crown fracture (0.1%) and avulsion (0.1%). The most affected tooth was the deciduous upper central incisor. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis the presence of dental trauma did correlate significantly with the age (5 years in reference to 3 years: OR = 4.209; 95% C.I. = 1.591-11.134; p = 0.004) and overjet (OR = 2.609; 95% C.I. = 1.306-5.214; p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of these lesions in a Spanish infant population with temporary dentition is low. Only age and overjet are risk factors. Key words:Dental trauma, deciduous dentition, risk factors.

Healthy mind and body in a healthy work environment.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between psychological distress and physical somatic symptoms as well as work environment conditions in the diverse population of dentists based in the Canary Islands (Spain). METHODS: 203 dentists officially registered with the local General Dental Councils, returned the questionnaire delivered by mail. Participants provided information on demographic characteristics, self-constructed questions like self-perceived environmental working conditions (location, access, temperature, humidity and pollution). They also completed the Spanish versions of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the revised version of the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R). The GHQ-12 was used to assess psychological distress and the somatic physical symptoms were assessed with the 12-item somatic subscale extracted from the SCL-90-R. Three different linear regression models were constructed. RESULTS: Psychological distress was positively related to somatic symptoms in all the models even after adjusting for sex and age. This association also remained significant for self-perceived environmental working conditions in the two final models. 23% of the dentists had psychological distress. The mean score for the SCL-90-R somatic subscale was 0.55 points (Standard Deviation: 0.50). CONCLUSIONS: Self-perceived environmental working conditions were also associated with the strong relationship found between psychological distress and physical somatic symptoms among dentists.

Evolution of caries and fluorosis in schoolchildren of the Canary Islands (Spain): 1991, 1998, 2006.

The aim of this work is to assess the evolution of caries and fluorosis prevalence and indices at 7 and 12 years of age in the Canary Islands through three cross epidemiological studies conducted in 1991, 1998 and 2006. The three studies followed a similar methodology, using the WHO diagnosis criteria and indications, except for the assessment of fluorosis, which was measured with the "Thylstrup and Fejerskov" index. The examining dentists were trained and calibrated in an area with high endemic fluorosis. The three studies took a sample of 1000 students for each age group. At 7 years of age, the decayed, and filled teeth (dft) varied from 1.42 in 1991 to 1.14 in 1998 and 1.37 in 2006. At 12 years of age, the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) went from 1.86 to 1.21 and 1.51 in the three studies respectively and the significant caries index (SiC) went from 4.28 to 3.15 and 3.72. At this age, the Filled Rate rose from 24.05% in 1991 to 30.43% in 1998 and to 37.20% in 2006. In relation to fluorosis, at 12 years of age the percentage of healthy or fluorosis-free schoolchildren in the Canary Islands between the first and the second studies went down from 73% to 61.3% and went up to 78.5% in 2006, with a noticeable fall in the prevalence of children with severe and moderate fluorosis. Despite the fluctuations of caries shown in the three studies, at 12 years of age the Canary Islands have remained in the low level of caries of the WHO classification from 1991 up to now. The evolution in the prevalence of dental fluorosis shows the effect of the measures taken, 10 years after they were started.