Prevalence of Malocclusions and Associated Factors inBrazilian Children and Adolescents with CerebralPalsy: A Multi-Institutional Study.

BACKGROUND: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with malocclusions in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: The study included 134 subjects with CP aged 2-18 years enrolled in six rehabilitation institutions and their caregivers, which provided demographic, systemic, and behavioral data. A calibrated researcher held oral examinations with record of the following malocclusion indexes, DAI and DMFT. Poisson regression analysis was used (α < 0.05). RESULTS: About 85.8% (n = 115) of patients had malocclusion. In deciduous and mixed dentition (n = 99), increased overjet (75.8%), open bite (51.5%), posterior cross bite (19.2%), and anterior cross bite (3.0%) were identified. Increased overjet was associated with the age group of 2-5 years and mild communication impairment. Anterior open bite was more common in children who underwent tongue interposition, lip interposition, and pacifier sucking. Communication skills, mouth breathing, and tongue interposition were associated with posterior cross bite. Severe malocclusions (DAI > 30) were observed in 88.6% of patients with permanent dentition (n = 35) and were associated with liquid diet consistency and finger sucking. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of malocclusion in individuals with CP was high and associated with demographic, behavioral, and systemic factors.

Breastfeeding Behavior in Brazilian Children with Congenital Zika Syndrome.

Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) is a condition that has emerged only recently, bringing together multiple changes, including significant changes in the stomatognathic system, which may compromise sucking behavior and consequently the breastfeeding practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the breastfeeding behaviors in children with CZS. A longitudinal study was carried out in two reference centers in Northeastern Brazil. The nonprobabilistic sample consisted of 79 children diagnosed with physical, neurological, and behavioral alterations compatible with CZS. Information regarding the child, nutritive, and nonnutritive sucking behavior and changes related to the sucking reflex was collected. Data were presented through descriptive and inferential statistics. In the bivariate analyses, the chi-squared test was used and 5% significance level was adopted. The majority of children had severe microcephaly (59.7%). Breastfeeding was performed at birth in most of CZS children (89.9%) but only 36.6% of them presented exclusive breastfeeding in the six months of life. Bottle feeding and pacifier were used in 89.9% and 55.7%, respectively. Sucking and swallowing difficulties and occurrence of gastroesophageal reflux were observed in 27.8%, 48.0%, and 29.2% of children, respectively. Early weaning was associated with bottle feeding (p=0.005) and pacifier sucking (p=0.003). Although breastfeeding practice at birth constitutes a behavior adopted by most of mothers, adherence to this exclusive habit until the first six months of life was low since the children presenting a large number of comorbidities with direct interference in the suction reflex, sucking, and swallowing difficulty.

Association of oral conditions with quality of working life of brazilian police officers

Objective: to evaluate the impact on the quality of working life of brazilian police officers with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). materials and methods: the sample consisted of 52 subjects and information was collected through the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and the Fonseca anamnesis index to evaluate the level of temporomandibular disorder (TMD), followed by clinical examination to determine the experience of dental caries, by means of the DMFT index. descriptive and inferential statistical analysis (chi-square test) was performed through the statistical package for the social sciences software. The significance level was 5 percent. results: the sample was predominantly composed of males (94.2 percent) with a mean age of 39.4 years (±9.4) and mean service length of 17.3 years (±11.0). the mean DMFT index value was 15.6 (±6.1), especially the "filled" component, whose mean was 12.1 (±5.4). the presence of TMD was found in 67.3 percent of the sample, of predominating mild degree (91.4 percent). quality of working life (QWL) was classified as unsatisfactory/neutral by 57.7 percent of participants. there was a statistically significant association between QWL and presence of TMD (p<0.05); however, there was no association between DMFT index and the presence of TMD (p>0.05). conclusion: although military police officers presented a high mean DMFT index value, there was highest prevalence of the "filled" component, evidencing a past experience of caries and evidencing that this population has access to oral health services. the occurrence of TMD was high, predominating the mild degree, and there was an association with QWL.

Evaluation of Oral Mucositis Occurrence in Oncologic Patients under Antineoplastic Therapy Submitted to the Low-Level Laser Coadjuvant Therapy.

Low-level laser therapy has been widely used in treating many conditions, including oral mucositis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of oral mucositis in patients undergoing antineoplastic therapy submitted to preventive and therapeutic treatment with low-level laser therapy. This cross-sectional study was carried out with 51 children and adolescents of both sexes with malignant neoplasias who developed oral mucositis and underwent low-level laser therapy. Data were collected on sex, age, type and degree of neoplasia, region affected, and remission time. 64.7% of the patients were male and were between 3 and 6 years of age (39.2%). Acute lymphoid leukemia was the most frequent neoplasm (37.3%). Regarding the maximum oral mucositis, grade 2 (41.2%) was predominant, with jugal mucosa (29.9%) and tongue (17.7%) being the most affected regions. The majority of cases presented lesion remission time between 4 and 7 days (44.0%). Most patients were young, male, and diagnosed with acute lymphoid leukemia. Predominance of grade 2 oral mucositis was observed, with jugal mucosa and tongue being the most affected regions, with the majority of cases presenting lesion remission time between 4 and 7 days. Low-level laser therapy has been shown to be an essential therapy in the prevention and treatment of these lesions, since it is a non-invasive and low-cost method.

Is playing string or wind musical instruments a risk factor for temporomandibular dysfunction? a systematic review

AIM. medical problems specifically affecting professional musicians are commonly mentioned in the literature. the present study is aimed to evaluate, through a systematic review, the possible association between the practice of string with bow and wind musical instruments and the occurrence of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). METHODS. the search for articles was conducted in PubMed/ Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Lilacs, Cochrane Library, and Open Gray databases, and there was no restriction on language or date of publication. the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. the MeSH terms used were: "music"; "temporomandibular joint"; "temporomandibular joint disorders"; "temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome"; and "occupational diseases". cross-sectional studies, case-control, cohort and clinical trials were included that involved the practice of string with bow and wind musical instruments and the occurrence of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). articles were previously selected by title and abstract. qualitative evaluation was done through the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. RESULTS. the literature search identified 732 studies, of which 10 met the inclusion criteria, nine of them cross-sectional studies and one a clinical intervention study. the TMD prevalence ranged from 47.0 percent to 89.0 percent. recruitment of participants took place in professional schools and orchestras, and in bands of professional musicians. all studies reported associations between TMD and the practice of musical instruments, and violinists presented higher prevalence rates when compared to other instrument groups. CONCLUSION. all studies pointed to a possible association between TMD and the practice of string and wind musical instruments. more longitudinal and clinical trials studies are needed to verify any possible interrelationship.