Abstract

Objective: To describe the socio-epidemiological profile of patients treated at the Children's Rehabilitation Center of Natal, Brazil, which is a reference institution in the treatment of patients with special needs aged 0-18 years. Material and Methods: Medical records and statistics (SAME) from January to December 2010 were analyzed, totaling 846 medical records. Data were collected through pre-elaborated evaluation form, with socioeconomic information, medical clinical condition (ICD), and dental clinical status. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted, presenting data in absolute frequencies and percentages. The intersection of data, applying the chi-square test was not statistically significant (p <5%). R 2.13.1 and Minitab 14 were used. Results: There was prevalence of males (60.52%); age group 0-5 years (52.36%); mesoregion of eastern Rio Grande do Norte (62.53%); income below the minimum wage (78.6%); equivalence between diseases of the nervous system (G) (30.97%), congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q) (30.73%); in males, mental and behavioral disorders (F) were prevalent (31.64%), and in females, diseases of the nervous system (G) were prevalent (32.33%); in dental records, the performance of preventive procedures was reported in 18.71%; restorative procedures in 45.7% and surgical. procedures in 21.8% The average number of decayed teeth was higher in individuals aged over 12 years (5.1), while the standard deviation ranged from 6 to 12 (2.5). Conclusion: The profile of patients is characterized by the predominance of male children with mental and behavioral disorders (F), aged 0-5 years living in the mesoregion of eastern Rio Grande do Norte and income less than one minimum wage. Preventive dental procedures accounted for the highest number of procedures.

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a permanent neurological disorder accompanied by secondary musculoskeletal masticatory disorder, with repercussion on chewing and deglutition functions. In these conditions, the liquids ingestion is compromised resulting in salivary osmolality alteration. The objective of this study was to compare salivary osmolality, caries experience and caries risk between normoreactive individuals and patients with CP. Material and Methods: The participants were 4-20 years old: 52 patients with CP treated at a reference rehabilitation centre (study group, SG), and 52 normoreactive individuals (control group, CG). Saliva was collected for five minutes using cotton rolls. Following centrifugation, salivary osmolality was determined by freezing point depression osmometry. Evaluations included caries experience (DMFT index), and caries risk based on a caries-risk assessment tool (CAT). Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi square and Student t tests) were used to compare the groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed and the area under the ROC curve (Az) was calculated. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results: The groups were homogeneous for sex (p=0.843) and age (p=0.128). In the SG, spastic type CP was the most prevalent (80.8%), and patients showed significantly higher salivary osmolality values compared with the CG (p<0.001). No significant differences in caries experience (p=0.159) or caries risk (p=0.297) were observed. ROC curve analysis determined a salivary osmolality cutoff point of >74 for the SG and >54 for the CG in the presence of dental caries. A significant correlation was verified between salivary osmolality and the DMFT index for the SG (p≤0.05). Conclusions: Although patients with CP showed higher salivary osmolality values, higher caries experience and caries risk were not observed compared with normoreactive individuals.