Prevalência de cárie dentária e fatores socioeconômicos associados em pré-escolares no município de Santa Cruz do Sul (RS).

Abstract

Many oral injuries can early affect children and one of these is dental caries. Studies has shown that the prevalence of this disease is decreasing, however it is still considered a public health problem that causes impact on the preschool’s quality of life. Countless factors are associated with the development of dental caries and among them are the socioeconomic factors. The child's age, familiar agglomeration, parental schooling and familiar income are considered important factors in the disease process. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental caries in children aged 1 to 5 years old at Santa Cruz do Sul (RS) city and the influence of socioeconomic factors on it. This cross-sectional study was carried out with 397 preschool, on the “D” day mobilization of the 2016 National MultiVaccination Campaign.That day, the clinical examination of the children was conducted by calibrated examiners, following the established criteria by the World Health Organization (WHO) and also a socioeconomic questionnaire was applied to parents/guardians by trained interviewers. The prevalence of dental caries among these preschool was 23%. The adjusted analysis showed that older children, of 4 and 5 years old (RP 2,28; IC95% 1,50-3,36), who received bolsa família (RP 2,01; IC95% 1,43-2,81) and had a larger familiar agglomeration (≥ 4 people) (RP 1,44; IC95% 1,01-2,09) presented a higher prevalence of the disease. From this, it is possible to conclude that dental caries is still a very prevalente in preschool’s, and is associated with socioeconomic factors. Prevention and/or health promotion activities should be carried out in order to reduce the rates.