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Erschienen in:
12.04.2017 | Original Article
Association between occlusal alterations and dental caries in preschool children
Erschienen in: Journal of Public Health | Ausgabe 5/2017
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Purpose
To assess whether there is an association between occlusal alterations and dental caries in the primary dentition among preschool children.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was developed with a representative sample of 698 children aged 3 to 5 years randomly selected from a population in this age group at private and public preschools. Dental caries (dependent variable) and occlusal alterations (independent variables) were evaluated through a clinical examination. Parents/caregivers responded to a questionnaire concerning socio-demographic indicators and the child’s characteristics. Descriptive analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test and hierarchically adjusted Poisson regression were used to analyze the data (p < 0.05; 95% CI).
Results
The prevalence of dental caries [decayed and filled teeth index (dft) >1] was 47.3%. The hierarchically adjusted Poisson regression demonstrated that children without maxillary spacing had an increased probability of dental caries (PR = 1.397; 95% CI: 1.070 to 1.823; p = 0.014) and that children without deep bite were more likely to have dental caries (PR = 0.441; 95% CI: 0.291 to 0.669; p < 0.001). Belonging to a household with an income up to the monthly minimum salary (PR = 1.712; 95% CI: 1.323 to 2.216; p < 0.001) and having an age of 5 years (PR = 1.575; 95% CI: 1.095 to 2.264; p = 0.014) were also associated with dental caries.
Conclusion
Significant associations were found between some types of occlusal alterations and dental caries in the preschool children analyzed.