Caregivers' Sense of Coherence and Untreated Dental Caries in Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

ABSTRACT Objective: To associate caregivers' sense of coherence (SOC) and untreated caries with oral health status in children covered by a dental public health system. Material and Methods: A convenience sample of caregivers/children in Angra dos Reis, Brazil, was surveyed. Caregivers' SOC was evaluated using the 13-question version questionnaire. For both caregivers/children, sociodemographic information was acquired and caries experience was evaluated by DMFT/dmft and PUFA/pufa index. Statistical associations between children's untreated carious teeth and interest variables from the caregivers were evaluated by binary logistic regression assessed by generalized linear modeling. Results: A total of 233 pairs of caregivers-children were included. Children's untreated permanent and primary carious teeth represented 34.8% and 62.2% of the caries experience, respectively and at least one PUFA/pufa scored tooth was detected in 22.7% of them. Caregivers' DMFT was 13.5±7.0, while 33.6% scored on PUFA. A total of 62.1% of them presented untreated carious lesions. Results from the univariate model, correlating children's untreated caries and caregivers' attributes showed a statistical significance for SOC values (p<0.015), untreated decayed teeth (p<0.035), self-perception of oral health (p<0.022) and oral impact on daily performance (p<0.010). The multivariate logistic first model kept the statistical significance only for the caregiver's untreated decayed teeth. Conclusion: Caregivers' SOC and untreated carious teeth could be used as indicators of dental treatment needs in their offspring.

Association Between Caries Experience and School Performance in an Island Community: Full-Time versus Part-Time Public Schools

Abstract Objective: To investigate the association between caries experience and school performance among children and adolescents living in an island community without fluoridated water supply and to compare data according to the type of attended school (full-time or part-time). Material and Methods: A cross-sectional oral health survey in a convenience sample of students (n=147) attending four public schools was performed. Students were examined by one calibrated dentist in the school environment to the obtain prevalence of dental caries (DMFT/dmft) and its consequences using the PUFA/pufa index. Self-reported oral health behavior was also accessed. Data from each student's school performance and absenteeism were extracted from official sources and the school performance was classified into "good" and "fair". The final sample consisted of 120 students. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were performed to evaluate collected data. Results: Students´ age ranged between 5 to 19 years (10±4.3). DMFT/dmft mean were 1.3 (±2.3) and 3.05 (±3.4), respectively. Conclusion: Participants from the full-time school presented better oral health status than their peers in the part-time schools (p<0.05). A significant association was found between the prevalence of caries-free participants and good school performance when the factor age range was controlled (OR=2.87). Moreover, attendance to full-time schools appeared to be a protective factor for good oral health conditions (AU).

Is the caregivers' oral health related to dental caries in children or adolescents? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aimed to evaluate evidence on the relation between the caregivers' oral health condition and dental caries prevalence in their offspring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Scientific literature was searched in PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library databases, and Grey Literature. Observational studies were included if mentioning oral health conditions in caregivers and dental caries in offsprings. The internal validity of the selected articles was judged by two evaluators according to a previously published guideline based on eight questions (1 point each). Studies included were divided into low methodological quality (1-3 points), moderate (4-6 points), or high (7-8 points) according to the quality assessment. The GRADE approach was used to assess the quality of evidence provided by the selected studies. RESULTS: Initially, 12.458 records were recovered, of which 54 full-text articles were evaluated. Hand search added 5 records, but after application of the exclusion criteria, only 16 articles which met the adopted eligibility criteria remained. Critical assessment scored one study as low, 10 moderate, and 5 with high validity. Most of the studies plotted correlations between the variables (12) while 4 studies compared DMFT (3) or ICDAS (1) scores between caries-active/caries-free children with caries experience in caregivers. Regarding the main study question, 15 studies (93.7%), containing 5704 caregivers and 5467 children/adolescents, found a significant relationship between mothers/caregivers and children's/adolescents' caries prevalence; one study found this relationship only for individuals showing active caries and one study did not disclose any relationship between caries prevalence in caregivers-children's/adolescents' pairs. The overall evidence was, however, qualified as low due to problems in the imprecision of the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers' oral health may be considered as an important risk marker in children's and adolescent's caries prevalence. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Assuming the contribution of caregivers' oral health conditions on dental caries in their offspring may help to establish control measures for such prevalent disease in the family environment.

Acolhimento na equipe de saúde bucal: uma revisãode literatura

Este trabalho relata os aspectos conceituais e operacionais do acolhimento quando implantados nas Equipes de Saúde Bucal / Equipes Saúde da Família. O processo de acolhimento representa uma estratégia inovadora na humanização da atenção em saúde pública através do estabelecimento de vínculo e responsabilização com a comunidade, favorecendo assim, o acesso, e a capacidade de escuta às demandas dos usuários. Para tanto, realizou-se uma revisão narrativa da literatura acerca do acolhimento no período de 2000 a 2011, onde os dados utilizados foram pautados nas bases: Medline, Lilacs, PubMed, BVS-MS, SciELO e Google acadêmico. Como resultados foram selecionados 13 artigos que relatam experiências da implantação do acolhimento em Unidades Básicas de Saúde em sete estados nacionais, sendo narradas não só as transformações ocorridas, mas também os desafios a serem enfrentados. Estes artigos também possibilitaram uma avaliação do relato de entrevistas com trabalhadores e usuários acerca da percepção desta ferramenta ao longo do processo de trabalho. A partir destas informações observou-se que para a implantação do processo de acolhimento nos serviços de saúde bucal são necessários: ambiente acolhedor; elaboração de arranjos organizacionais adaptados à singularidade de cada unidade (fluxograma com classificação de risco); reuniões de equipe; incentivo à educação permanente; controle social; além da gestão colegiada. Concluiu-se que a operacionalização do acolhimento nas Equipes Saúde da Família / Equipe Saúde Bucal requer amplas transformações envolvendo articulações entre usuários, trabalhadores e gestores.