Prevalence of dental caries in 3- and 5-year-old children living in a small Brazilian City

Abstract

Despite the reduction in the prevalence of dental caries, very little is known about the prevalence of the disease, especially in deciduous teeth, in small Brazilian cities (<20,000 inhabitants). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental caries in children aged 3 and 5 years of age in the city of Cambira - State of Parana. All children that participated in the national vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis in 2002 at the two basic health units of the city were examined. The campaign covered 99.5% of the population aged 1 to 5 years. Two previously trained and calibrated dentists performed the clinical examinations after the children brushed their teeth and recorded their caries experience by means of the dmf index. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of the disease between the male and female genders and between the rural and urban zones. At the age of 3, 68.50% of the children were caries-free, compared to 31.10% at the age of 5. In the total population, 11.19% of the children accounted for 50.86% of the teeth affected by dental caries. The dmf index at 3 and 5 years in the study population was 2.10 and 3.51, respectively. These data showed that the city has not yet reached the goals proposed by the WHO for the year 2000, what indicates the need for greater investment in programs aimed to prevention and control of the disease.

Trends in dental caries in 1‐ to 4‐year‐old children in a Brazilian city between 1997 and 2008

“…Nevertheless, there are a few single cross sectional studies with children under 5 years old. The results show that there are large variations between the prevalence and dmfs values in different regions of Brazil 4,[36][37][38][39][40] . In Brazil, the last countrywide survey showed a high prevalence of dental caries (59.3%) and a mean of 2.8 dmft in 5-year-old children 41 .…”

Italian Deprivation Index and Dental Caries in 12-Year-Old Children: A Multilevel Bayesian Analysis

“…Over the past few decades, in most industrialized countries the prevalence of dental caries has varied [Petersen, 2003;Marthaler, 2004]. Studies on the etiology of dental caries have shown that small population groups maintain a high prevalence of this disease [Ueda et al, 2004;Masood et al, 2012], and others reported that the disparity of disease may be related to a more intense exposure to risk factors (gender, educational level of mothers, SES, oral hygiene habits, fluoride history, dental fluorosis, access to oral health services, sugar consumption, diet habits, area of residence) and to social deprivation [Patrick et al, 2006;Sabbah et al, 2009].…”

Perfil epidemiológico de cárie dentária em pré-escolares e o conhecimento de pais e de educadores sobre saúde bucal

“…No presente estudo, 61,54% das crianças com cinco anos de idade apresentaram-se livres de cárie, porcentagem maior que o descrito em outros estudos brasileiros FREIRE et al, 1999;RIBEIRO, 2000;CARDOSO et al, 2004;GOMES, 2004;HOFFMANN et al, 2004;UEDA et al, 2004;MENEZES, 2005;AMARAL et al, 2006;HOFFMANN et al, 2006;MAGALHÃES;MARTINS et al, 2006;MOURA;MOURA;TOLEDO, 2006;PINHEIRO et al, 2006;RIHS et al, 2007) e até mesmo em relação aos resultados dos levantamentos da SESSP (FSP-USP/SESSP, 1999) e do SB Brasil (BRASIL, 2004).…”