Evaluation of an Oral Health Promotion and Preventive Programme: A Case-Control Study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the oral health of children who were beneficiaries of a promotion and preventive programme for more than 6 years and to estimate the factors relating to their oral condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case-control study, the total population comprised all 7- to 13-year-old children who attended the Paediatric Dentistry Centre of Reference Simón Bolívar (CROSB), a programme for students of the community of Viña del Mar, Chile. The case group was treated from the age of 7 to 13 years and controls were only seen at the age of 13 (had not been previously enrolled in the programme). The compilation of data was carried out through examination of clinical records. Statistical analysis included Fisher's Exact Test, the chi-square and Mantel-Haenszel tests to determine odds ratios, log-linear models to study some types of relationships between the different qualitative variables and Mood's Median Test for quantitative variables. Finally, a logit-type generalised linear model (GLM) was adjusted to estimate the probability of a caries-free child according to the different variables under study. RESULTS: The main finding is that this programme does not successfully control the local risk factors of caries. The factors that jointly explain the presence of caries-free children were: non-participation in the programme, attending public school and the presence of sealed teeth. CONCLUSION: Even though the evaluated programme creates equity in the indicators of oral health among its beneficiaries, it does not reach the levels of oral health of the non-vulnerable population. It is recommended that this programme seek more effective tools.

Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in an elderly population in the city of Valparaiso, Chile.

OBJECTIVE: Chilean population is ageing, which means an increase in the prevalence of multiple pathologies, including those located in the oral cavity. AIM: To measure the prevalence and distribution of oral mucosal lesions and to identify associated risk factors in elderly patients in the city of Valparaiso. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study includes 126 patients over 60 years. The sample was calculated with a sampling error of 3.7% from a population size of 6000 file cards. Frequency and contingency tables were made together with odds ratios, with a confidence interval of 95%. Finally, we built a predictive model based on a binary logistic regression. RESULTS: From the whole sample, 85 patients (67.5%) had some oral mucosal lesion. The most frequent lesions were denture-induced stomatitis (37.1%). It was noted that there is a statistically significant association between the use of denture and the presence of oral candidiasis. The consumption of drugs and the use of denture increase the likelihood of having oral mucosal lesions. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of oral lesions in the elderly patients of Valparaiso. The use of drugs and /or denture increases significantly the likelihood that a person over 60 years presents lesions in the oral mucosa.