Background
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Due to preterm-born adolescents’ greater risk of developing behavioural difficulties, they have higher levels of DFA than full-term controls at follow-up at 17–19 years of age.
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Due to a well-functioning dental care system in Sweden, preterm-born adolescents are not considered special needs patients in their future dental care because, at 17–19 years of age, they are comparable to that of the full-term control group regarding oral health behaviour, dietary habits and satisfaction with dental care.
Methods
Study area
Study population
Questionnaire
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Attitude to the dental care was described in two items: satisfaction with dental care, in general, and pain rating experienced during X-ray. The adolescent was asked to rate the pain intensity on a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale. Rating ≥ 50 was classified as having pain in conjunction with radiographic investigations.
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Medical health included general health problems, disability, and daily medication. The following definition was used for chronic disease:
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a disorder that is disabling, chronic or incurable, or
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a disorder occurring at least three months during a one-year period and interfering with daily life functioning and/or needing treatment or special aids during at least three months, or
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a disorder requiring hospitalization for at least one month or at least three periods during a one-year period [18].
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School situation consisted of questions regarding satisfaction with school situation and current education, classified as three-year theoretical or practical programs [19].
Analyses and statistics
Results
Preterm | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Total | VPT | EPT | Full-term | |
n = 145 |
n = 113 |
n = 32 |
n = 140 | |
Sex | ||||
Boys | 67 (46.2%) | 49 (43.4%) | 18 (56.3%) | 69 (49.3%) |
Girls | 78 (53.8%) | 64 (56.6%) | 14 (44.8%) | 71 (50.7%) |
Twins/triplets | 47 (32.4%) | 42 (37.2%) | 5 (15.6%) | 1 (0.7%) |
Immigrant background | ||||
Nordic | 120 (82.8%) | 98 (86.7%) | 22 (68.8%) | 115 (82.1%) |
Immigrants | 25 (17.2%) | 15 (13.3%) | 10 (31.3%) | 25 (17.9%) |
Mean gestational age in weeks | 29.9 | 30.8 | 26.6 | ≥ 37 |
(range) | (24–32) | (29–32) | (24–28) | no data available |
Mean birth -weight (gram) | 1454 | 1604 | 922 | 3550a
|
range | 615-2235 | 840-2235 | 615–1470 | 2100–4400 |
Questionnaire
Dental fear and anxiety (CFSS-DS score)
17–19 years of age | 12–14 years of age | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PT | C |
P-value | PT | C |
P-value | |
n = 145 |
n = 140 |
n = 109 |
n = 108 | |||
CFSS-DS | ||||||
mean | 21.41 | 21.58 | 0.196a
| 21.89 | 21.57 | 0.820a
|
SD | 7.68 | 6.82 | 6.37 | 5.97 | ||
median | 18.00 | 20.00 | 20.40 | 20.00 | ||
range | 15–48 | 15–61 | 15–47 | 15–45 | ||
Satisfaction with the dental care | 127 (87.6%) | 117 (83.6%) | 0.334b
| 105 (96.3%) | 105 (97.2%) | 0.710b
|
Very good | 50 (34.5%) | 56 (40.0%) | 51 (46.8%) | 58 (53.7%) | ||
Good | 77 (53.1%) | 61 (44.6%) | 54 (49.5%) | 47 (43.5%) | ||
Bad | 18 (12.4%) | 23 (16.4%) | 4 (3.7%) | 3 (2.8%) | ||
Very bad | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
Satisfaction with dental care
Oral health behaviour
17–19 years of age | 12–14 years of age | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PT | C |
P-value | PT | C |
P-value | |
n = 145 |
n = 140 |
n = 109 |
n = 108 | |||
Eating or drinking ≥ 5 times/day | 60 (41.4%) | 60 (42.9%) | 0.801 | 51 (46.8%) | 46 (42.6%) | 0.534 |
Eating candy, or similar snack foods between meals ≥3 days/week | 63 (43.4%) | 69 (49.3%) | 0.323 | 20 (18.3%) | 26 (24.1%) | 0.302 |
Drinking non-diet soda, lemonade or other sugar containing drinks between meals | 71 (48.9%) | 74 (52.9%) | 0.511 | 32 (29.4%) | 32 (29.6%) | 0.965 |
Pain experienced during dental radiographs
Medical health
17–19 years of age | 12–14 years of age | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PT | C |
P-value | PT | C |
P-value | |
n = 145 |
n = 140 |
n = 109 |
n = 108 | |||
Chronic illness | 31 (21.3%) | 13 (9.3%) | 0.005 | 11 (10.1%) | 4 (3.7%) | 0.064 |
neuropsychiatric disorders | 10 | 6 | ||||
cerebral palsy, without intellectual developmental delay | 9 | |||||
heart disease | 3 | |||||
deafness | 3 | |||||
diabetes | 2 | |||||
severe asthma | 2 | 2 | ||||
polycytotic syndrome | 1 | |||||
malformed esophagus | 1 | |||||
psoriasis | 1 | |||||
alopecia | 1 | |||||
vision loss | 2 | |||||
epilepsy | 1 | |||||
General health problems | 45 (31.0%) | 33 (23.6%) | 0.158 | 34 (31.2%) | 21 (19.4%) | 0.047 |
allergies or minor respiratory disorders | ||||||
Daily medication | 33 (22.8%) | 17 (12.1%) | 0.040 | 14 (12.8%) | 7 (6.5%) | 0.113 |