Head and maxillofacial injuries in child and adolescent victims of automotive accidents.

BACKGROUND: Victims of motor vehicle accidents may suffer multiple lesions, including maxillofacial injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with head, facial, and maxillofacial injuries in child and adolescent victims of automobile accidents. A cross-sectional study was carried out with analysis of forensic medical reports from the Legal Medical Institute of Campina Grande, Brazil, between January 2008 and December 2011. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was conducted using the chi-square test (α = 0.05). From 1613 medical reports analyzed, the sample is composed 232 (14.4%) reports referring to child and adolescent victims of automobile accidents aged 0-19 years of both sexes. Victims were mostly adolescents aged from 15 to 19 years (64.2%), males (73.7%), and motorcyclists (51.3%). More than half of the victims had single lesions (54.3%) located in the head (20.7%) and face (21.6%). Head injuries occurred more frequently in children aged 0-4 years (53.8%, PR = 5.065, 95% CI = 1.617-5.870) and pedestrians (30.4%, PR = 2.039, 95% CI = 1.024-4.061), while facial and maxillofacial injuries occurred in higher proportion among females (31.1%, PR = 0.489, 95% CI = 0.251-0.954). Our findings suggest that accidents involving motorcyclists are the most prevalent, affecting male adolescents aged from 15 to 19 years, resulting in a high frequency of injuries in the head and face regions.

Assessment of Oral Hygiene Level and Periodontal Condition in Brazilian Adolescents

Objective: To evaluate the oral hygiene level and periodontal condition of adolescents aged 15-19 years and socioeconomic factors. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional study with 630 adolescents from public schools randomly selected in the city of Campina Grande, Brazil. For data collection, a form containing socioeconomic variables and those related to oral hygiene was used. The oral hygiene level was measured through the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) and periodontal condition was evaluated by the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Data were descriptively and inferentially analyzed using the chi-square test, adopting significance level of 5%. Results: Adolescents were mostly females (59.5%), aged 16 years (32.4%), non-white (77.8%), with family income lower than US $ 612.00 (55.1%), with parental schooling of up to high school (50%). Periodontal condition showed no significant association with any of the socioeconomic factors (p> 0.05). All participants reported using toothbrush; however, the control of interproximal plaque with flossing was reported by only 44.1%, being higher among females (p = 0.028), and its use has been associated with periodontal status (p = 0.026). The oral hygiene level was satisfactory for 59.7% of adolescents, while CPI showed that only 1.6% of them had healthy periodontium and gingival bleeding (34.4%) and presence of dental calculus (37, 8%) were the most prevalent alterations. Conclusion: Adolescents showed satisfactory oral hygiene condition; however, there was a high prevalence of gingival bleeding and dental calculus. Periodontal condition was associated with flossing; however, association with socioeconomic factors was not observed.