Traumatismo dentário em pré-escolares: prevalência, fatores associados e impacto na qualidade de vida

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To outline an epidemiological profile of traumatic dental injury (TDI) and associated factors, as well as to verify their impact on preschool children s quality of life. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional population-based randomized study with 814 children aged from three to five years, enrolled in public and private institutions in the city of Campina Grande, PB, Brazil. A pilot study was previously carried out to ascertain the methodology, comprising a total of 40 children whom were not included in the main study. Data were collected by means of questionnaires sent to and filled out by the parents, including sociodemographic data and children s history of dental trauma, and also by means of the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). Clinical examinations were performed by three dentists previously calibrated (Kappa: 0.85 to 0.90) using the diagnostic criteria for TDI proposed by Andreasen et al. (2007). Data were subjected to descriptive and univariate analysis and Poisson adjusted multiple regression, with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: The prevalence of TDI was found to be 34%. In addition, the most common TDI was enamel fracture (55%) and the central incisors were the most affected teeth (88.4%). The predictors for TDI were family income greater than one minimum wage (PR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.06-1.74); carious lesions in the incisors (PR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.00-1.64); and overjet greater than 2 mm (PR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.21-1.94). The prevalence of negative impact on quality of life was 31.1% for children and 24.7% for families. There was no association between dental trauma and impact on quality of life. The perception of oral health by children and parents/legal guardians (PR: 1.210, 95% CI: 1.027-1 .426) and history of toothache (PR: 4.997.95% CI: 2.943-8 .493) were included in the final model for the section child, whereas only the history of toothache (PR: 2.791, 95% CI: 1.801-4.325) was included for the section family. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of traumatic dental injury was high in the present study. Household income, presence of carious lesions and overjet were associated with TDI. The occurrence of TDI did not impact children s and families quality of life, and the history of toothache was the only variable with a negative impact on quality of life of preschool children and their families.