Qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal de crianças na primeira infância atendidas em instituição de ensino superior

Abstract

Changes in the oral cavity of preschool children, such as dental caries, toothache, trauma and malocclusion, can affect their general health as well as their quality of life and their families. As these changes can restrict their normal daily activities, the identification of factors that can affect the quality of life related to oral health is of paramount importance and can help professionals in decision making. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of children’s oral health condition in early childhood on their quality of life and their families according to the perception of their parents and/or caregivers. This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed the medical records of children under 54 months of age who were attended at a Higher Education Institution in Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. The child’s parents or guardians answered a questionnaire on quality of life related to oral health (B-ECOHIS) and a questionnaire on socioeconomic status. In addition, data were collected from the child's individual medical record referring to: personal data (age and sex); anamnesis, with data on harmful habits (digital and/or pacifier sucking), eating habits (natural/artificial breastfeeding and sugar consumption) and dental history (history of dental trauma); physical examination (occlusal analysis); and odontogram (presence/absence of caries and dmft). Data were organized in the SPSS program and descriptive and statistical analyzes were performed, using Pearson's chi-square test, Logistic Regression and Poisson Regression with a significance level of 5%. 49 medical records of children treated between August 2019 and March 2020 were evaluated. Most children (71.40%) did not have dental caries, 16.33% had occlusal changes and 46.94% had a history of trauma. There was a statistically significant association between the experience of dental caries and increasing age, low schooling of those responsible and the habit of pacifier sucking. The study revealed that HRQoL was not associated with the demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and clinical characteristics of the children under 54 months of age evaluated. The experience of dental caries was associated with the following factors: child's age, parent's education and pacifier sucking.