Conditions and Perceptions of Oral Health in Brazilian Pregnant Women

Objective: To identify the prevalence of caries and periodontal diseases, and factors associated with caries and perceptions of dental care by pregnant women, before and after the educational intervention. Material and Methods: 121 pregnant women from the municipality of Matozinhos (Minas Gerais State, Brazil) participated in this study. Caries and periodontal diseases, sociodemographic characteristics, and access to dental service were evaluated. Perceptions were analyzed before and after the action of operative groups. In addition to descriptive statistical analysis, the DMFT index, dichotomized by the median value, was associated with family income and perceptions of treatment need and health, using the Pearson's and linear trend chi-square tests. The McNemar's chi-square test was used for comparisons before and after educational interventions. A significance level of p<0.05 was used. Results: The DMFT was equal to 12.00 (±6.33), with 52.2% of carious teeth. Most of the pregnant women showed some level of periodontal disease or dental calculus. Caries was neither associated with family income (p=0.469) and need for dental treatment (p=0.161) nor with health perception (p=0.506). There was an improvement regarding the perception of dental care during pregnancy after educational intervention (p<0.001). Conclusion: The conditions of oral health and oral health care in pregnant women are worrisome. Educational interventions improved the perceptions of dental care, and they pointed out the need dentists have as effective members of the prenatal team.

Prevalence of dental trauma and associated factors among 1- to 4-year-old children.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of dental trauma among 1- to 4-year-old children and test the association between dental trauma and demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical factors. METHODS: Five calibrated researchers (intra- and interexaminer kappa values=0.89 and 0.81, respectively) examined a representative sample of 407 children in the city of Matozinhos, Minas Gerais, Brazil, during the 2008 national vaccination campaign. Statistical analysis was performed via descriptive analysis, chi-square test (P<.05), and logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental trauma was 47%; among the 407 children examined, 187 had suffered dental trauma. The most prevalent type of alteration due to dental trauma was enamel fracture (85%), followed by enamel-dentin fracture without pulp exposure (11%) and enamel-dentin fracture with pulp exposure (3%). The main location where the trauma occurred was at home (89%), with the cause reported by parents as accidents while running, playing, or crawling (79%). After adjusting for the variables, the child's age (P>.01) and number of siblings (P>.01) remained associated with the outcome. CONCLUSION: Results indicate the need for public health policies that include dental trauma as one of the priorities directed at young children.