Prevalência de mordida aberta anterior e impacto na qualidade de vida de pré-escolares e seus familiares, no município de Santa Cruz do Sul (RS).

Abstract

The current definition of oral health encompasses the ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow, transmit emotions through facial expressions, without pain or discomfort, and absence of diseases of the craniofacial complex. Thus, oral health cannot be dissociated from general health, being dependent on the physiological, social and psychological factors indispensable in the quality of life. Malocclusion is among the main oral health problems, it is characterized by poor position of the teeth in the dental arch and often accompanied by respiratory, speech and chewing problems. In pre-school children, the anterior open bite is one of the most prevalent occlusal alterations, characterized by the lack of contact between the incisors and the canines with their opposite arch. The objective of this study was to evaluate the factors associated with the prevalence of anterior open bite and its impact on the quality of life of children 2 to 5 years of age enrolled in Municipal Schools of Early Childhood Education (EMEIs) and their families, in Santa Cruz do Sul municipality (RS). The study was transversal, observational and analytical, with the participation of 409 preschoolers, from 2 to 5 years of age, in 18 EMEIs located in the urban area of the Santa Cruz do Sul (RS). After the approval by UNISC's Research Ethics Committee (CEP) and consent of the parents/guardians, the children's oral exams were performed by three previously trained and calibrated examiners in the EMEIs under natural light, with the child sitting in front of the examiner, following criteria by Foster and Hamilton (1969), and SB Brazil Project 2010. The parents answered a socioeconomic questionnaire, with data related to family income, parental schooling, child habits, among others. The impact of oral health on the quality of life of children and their families was evaluated through the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale - B-ECOHIS. The prevalence of previous open bite found was 33.25%. The univariate analysis of the association between anterior open bite and independent variables showed that breastfeeding for more than 12 months was associated with a lower prevalence of previous open bite (p <0.001), but when adding the pacifier in the multivariable model, this association is absent. Children who used a pacifier presented an 8.12 times higher prevalence of anterior open bite if compared to those who did not use (PR 8,12, 95% CI: 3,50 to 18,78, p <0.001) Regarding oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL), there was a negative impact for males, older age, lower family income and higher maternal schooling, whereas previous open bite did not impact the OHRQoL of preschoolers and their families. It is concluded that there is a high prevalence of previous open bite in preschool children in the Santa Cruz do Sul (RS), associated with high pacifier prevalence. However, there was no impact of this condition on the OHRQoL of preschool children and their families.