Authors: Maria Cristina Teixeira Cangussu, Tatiana Frederico de Almeida, Jéssica Linday Leal Lima, Lucilian Viveiros da Silva, Maria Beatriz Barreto de Sousa Cabral, Mércia Santos Sacramento, Maria Isabel Pereira Vianna
Objectives: To describe malocclusions, dental trauma and dental enamel changes in children aged 3 to 5 years-old in the city of Salvador-BA, and to investigate the impact of these problems on their OHRQoL, considering the influence of sociodemographic variables.
Methodology: A study was conducted with 1591 children aged 36 to 71 months attending randomly drawn health units and municipal day care centers in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The clinical examination was performed, and a questionnaire was administered to those responsible for identifying sociodemographic and behavioral aspects and OHRQoL using Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS). Descriptive, univariate and multivariate results using robust Poisson regression was performed, with a significance level of 5%.
Results: Of the total, 16.28% of children had mild malocclusion and 23.82% had moderate or severe malocclusion, and the most prevalent was open bite. 22.31% of the children had at least one type of dental trauma, with limited fracture in the enamel was the most prevalent. 9.24% presented enamel alteration, with hypoplasia being the predominant one (65.24%). Regarding OHRQoL, a significant association was found with the child's age >55 months (adjusted PR = 1.62; 1.35-1.93 95% CI), five or more persons in the household (adjusted PR = 1.50; 1.26- 1.79 95% CI) and enamel changes (adjusted PR = 1.31; 1.03-1.68 95% CI).
Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of oral diseases investigated and the older age, higher family density and enamel changes had a negative impact on the OHRQoL of children and their families.
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