Nutritional Status is Associated with Permanent Tooth Eruption in a Group of Brazilian School Children.

The present study aimed to investigate the association between nutritional status with delayed tooth eruption (DTE). Oral examination was performed in schoolchildren (8-11 years old), and DTE was defined by absence of dental gingival emergence or when primary tooth was still present in the oral cavity after the expected time. BMI z-score of each child were collected and nutritional status was defined. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression adjusted by age and gender were performed. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) were calculated. The established alpha was 5%. Among 353 included children, 247 were classified as eutrophic, 16 as underweight, 64 as overweight, and 26 as obese. Underweight was associated as a risk factor to DTE (P = .014; OR = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.3-9.8), and underweight girls had more chance to present DTE than eutrophic girls (P = .048; OR = 4.4; 95% CI = 1.1-17.2) in chi square test. In logistic regression, underweight was associated as a risk factor to DTE (OR = 4.21; CI 95% = 1.42-12.43; P = .009). Underweight children have a higher risk of DTE in permanents.

Tooth injuries: Knowledge of parents of public school students from the city of Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognosis of traumatized teeth can be optimized if appropriate procedures are following at the time of the accident. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge of students' parents from a group of Brazilian schools regarding fracture and tooth avulsion in permanent teeth. METHODS: Parents of 802 students were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire designed to explore how they would manage their child's dental avulsion or fracture. RESULTS: Among the parents, 8.6% reported their child had already suffered tooth injuries. Concerning dental fracture, 49.5% considered the possibility of bonding the tooth fragment and, for dental avulsion, 65.5% considered tooth replantation. Approximately 33.5% of parents would take the child to the dental office in case of fracture or dental avulsion, and of those, 66.2% would do so immediately. Further, 69.5% (for fracture) and 70.4% (for avulsion) would do so regardless of symptoms; only 24.2% and 21.3%, respectively, would seek care only if there was pain. In case of avulsion, 22.3% of those interviewed would store the tooth in liquid, such as saline solution (17.8%), water (16.4%) and fresh milk (12.2%). CONCLUSION: Parents had partial and insufficient knowledge as to the proper approach to be adopted in cases of fracture and dental avulsion. Previous experience of dental trauma was not related to more appropriate behavior regarding these injuries.