The impact of cyberbullying on schoolchildren's dental anxiety in Brazil: A cross-sectional multi-level study.

OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional study assessed the correlation between individual and school-related social environment variables with dental anxiety in Brazilian schoolchildren aged 8-12 years. METHODS: A sample of children from 20 private and public schools (n = 1211) from Pelotas, Brazil, were selected. Socioeconomic data were collected from parents, and data regarding children characteristics were collected using a questionnaire. Dental anxiety (the outcome) was assessed by the following question: 'Are you afraid of going to the dentist?' Dental examinations were performed to assess caries experience (DMFT ≥ 1). The social school environment was assessed by a questionnaire administered to schools' coordinators and considered: type of school, verbal violence between students, presence of gangs at school and cyberbullying episodes. Multilevel Poisson regression was used to investigate the association between school social environment and dental anxiety. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental anxiety was 9.1% (95%CI 7.5-10.8). For the individual variables, anxiety was more prevalent in girls [1.85 (1.21-2.81)], in children with less-educated mothers [1.50 (1.00-2.27)] and in children who never attended to the dentist [2.48 (1.65-3.72)]. For contextual variables, episodes of cyberbullying in school increased the prevalence of dental anxiety by almost 80% [1.78 (1.14-2.78)]. CONCLUSIONS: The school social environment influences dental anxiety. The results suggest that it is important to establish strategies focused on promoting healthier environments and preventing cyberbullying in order to reduce the occurrence of dental anxiety.

Dental prosthesis use and/or need impacting the oral health-related quality of life in Brazilian adults and elders: Results from a National Survey.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the impact of use of and need for dental prosthesis (DP) on oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among Brazilian adults and elders. METHODS: This cross-sectional, population-based study, used data from the Brazilian Oral Health National Survey performed in 2010. The sample was representative of adults (35-44 years of age) and elders (65-74 years) at national level. Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) questionnaire was used to assess the individuals' OHRQoL. Interest variables included use of and need for DP and location of tooth losses. Covariates included socioeconomic, behavioral and clinical characteristics. Associations were performed using Negative Binomial regression models, estimating the rate ratios (RR) and respective 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: From the total of 17,398 individuals evaluated, 68.3% needed some type of DP, while the prevalence of DP usage was 49.2%. After adjustments, those needing prosthesis, regardless of already using prosthesis presented an impact more than 50% higher on OHRQoL, and those needing a greater the number of teeth to be replaced and those presenting losses on anterior and posterior regions had higher impact on OHRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that improvement of strategies focused on oral rehabilitation of adults and elders are crucial to promote population oral health. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The high prevalence of normative need for prosthetic rehabilitation in adult and elder Brazilian population impacts significantly on oral health-related quality of life highlighting the importance of providing prosthetic oral rehabilitation in this population.

(Super)hydrophobic coating of orthodontic dental devices and reduction of early oral biofilm retention.

This study was designed to apply (super)hydrophobic crosslinked coatings by means of a sol-gel process on the surface of orthodontic devices and investigate the potential effect of these coatings in reducing the early retention of oral biofilm. Two organosilane-based hydrophobic solutions (HSs) were prepared containing hexadecyltrimethoxysilane diluted in ethanol (HS1) or 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane diluted in dimethyl sulfoxide (HS2). Stainless steel plates and ceramic discs were coated with HS1 or HS2 and heated at 150 °C for 2 h for condensation of a crosslinked SiO x network. Organosilane coatings were applied after previous, or no, surface sandblasting. Commercial stainless steel and ceramic brackets were used to evaluate oral biofilm retention after 12 h or 24 h of biofilm growth, using a microcosm model with human saliva as the inoculum. Surface roughness analysis (Ra, µm) indicated that sandblasting associated with organosilane coatings increased roughness for stainless steel brackets only. Analysis of the water contact angle showed that the stainless steel surface treated with HS1 was hydrophobic (~123°), while the ceramic surface treated with HS2 was superhydrophobic (~155°). Biofilm retention after 24 h was significantly lower in groups treated with hydrophobic coatings. An exponential reduction in biofilm accumulation was associated with increased water contact angle for both stainless steel and ceramic at 24 h. Application of (super)hydrophobic coatings on the surface of stainless steel and ceramic orthodontic devices might reduce the retention of oral biofilm.

Perfil de saúde bucal de crianças internadas em Unidade de Pediatria de um Hospital Escola / Oral health status of children in the pediatric unit of a teaching hospital

Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o perfil de saúde bucal e hábitos de higiene bucal em crianças hospitalizadas. Métodos: Estudo do tipo transversal, realizado com crianças de 0 a 12 anos internadas na Unidade Pediátrica de um hospital de ensino do Sul do Brasil, no período de maio a novembro de 2012. A coleta de variáveis comportamentais (hábitos de higiene oral), socioeconômicas (renda familiar e escolaridade materna) e demográficas (idade e gênero da criança) foi realizada através de entrevista com as mães. As crianças foram examinadas para avaliação dos níveis de saúde bucal, incluindo índice de cárie e placa. Foram realizadas análise descritiva, teste Quiquadrado e exato de Fisher (p <0,05). Resultados: Das 63 crianças examinadas, 35 apresentavam pelo menos um dente em boca. Destas, 7 crianças (20%) apresentavam cárie dentária (ceod/ CPOD>0) e 22 (62,8%) tinham placa dentária visível. O hábito de higiene bucal foi relatado por 33 mães e 42 mães não haviam levado itens de higiene bucal para a criança. Análises bivariadas indicaram que as variáveis associadas com os hábitos de higiene bucal foram a idade da criança e o tipo de dentição (p <0,05). Conclusão: Constatou-se que os cuidados com a saúde bucal têm baixa prioridade durante a hospitalização da criança. Os resultados destacam a importância de promover saúde bucal e orientação preventiva para crianças hospitalizadas, pois agravos na saúde bucal podem conduzir a tratamentos mais complexos e prolongar o período de internação hospitalar.