Prevalência de cárie em adolescentes de escolas públicas e privadas na cidade de João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of cavities among adolescents in public and private schools in João Pessoa, Paraíba State, Brazil, comparing the DMFT in terms of gender and age, as well as education levels and quality among mothers in these two types of schools. The sample consisted of 3,330 adolescents between twelve and fifteen years old: 1,665 attending public schools and 1,665 attending private schools. The DMFT was evaluated by the WHO criteria (1997), using the Kappa (0.92) intra-examiner agreement for cavity diagnoses and the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis statistical analyses. The prevalence of cavities in public schools was 51.6%, compared to 9.3% in private schools. The DMFT for girls was 4.79 and 3.46 for boys in public schools (p<0.0001) and 2.11 and 1.65 (p=0.0007) in private schools. At the age of 12 years, the DMFT was 3.37 in public schools and 1.35 in private schools, while for the age of 15 it was 5.65 and 2.88 for each type of school. Among children whose mothers graduated from high school, the average DMFT was 4.21 in public schools and 1.81 in private schools. The prevalence of cavities was higher among girls in public schools, increasing with age and decreasing with higher education levels among mothers.

Oral hygiene, dietary habits and prevalence of dental caries in adolescents from rural and urban areas in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

“…Despite the small number of students from private schools, it can be observed from this survey that students in public schools had a far higher prevalence of caries than students in private schools, and these findings were statistically significant and consistent with results found in studies in different regions 11,27,34 . According to the literature, we might suggest that our results are a consequence of the better quality of life of schoolchildren in the private system, with access to health, education and treated water, and to the absence of oral health policies directed towards users of the public education system.…”

Relation between oral health and socioeconomic variables among schoolchildren aged 12 in the City of Manaus - AM

“…This finding corroborates the results of studies by Moreira et al (2007) and Freire et al (2010), who found that the percentage of children with caries experience is higher among students in public schools than those in private schools. In turn, Brasil (1988) and Meneghim et al (2007) reported higher mean of DMFT where economic conditions are worse.…”

“…In turn, Brasil (1988) and Meneghim et al (2007) reported higher mean of DMFT where economic conditions are worse. Moreira et al (2007) and Rigo et al (2011) found association between mother's educational background and dental caries. Régis-Aranha et al (2008) evaluated children aged 12 in the city of Boa Vista, Roraima, and found no association between socioeconomic variables and DMFT.…”

Acesso a orientações de higiene bucal entre escolares da rede pública de ensino

“…Tal fato é fundamentado em uma maior prevalência de problemas bucais em escolares de escolas públicas, questão esta identificada em estudos prévios realizados em João Pessoa-PB 21 e Jundiaí-SP 22 , que constataram maior prevalência de cárie dentária na Rede Pública de Ensino. Provavelmente, isso pode ter ocorrido pela melhor qualidade de vida dos escolares da rede privada, como acesso à água tratada, saúde e educação 21 , dentre outras questões, uma vez que a ocorrência de alguns problemas bucais, como cárie dentária, pode estar associada a questões socioeconômicas 23 . Nesse contexto, acredita-se que escolares da rede pública apresentam piores condições socioeconômicas e, consequentemente, podem apresentar piores condições de saúde bucal.…”

“…Diferenças estatisticamente significantes entre os gêneros na prevalência de agravos bucais, como a cárie dentária, foram registradas em estudos prévios entre crianças e adolescentes, constatando menor prevalência destes no sexo masculino 21,24 . Acredita-se que escolares do sexo masculino podem configurar-se como um grupo de menor prevalência de alguns agravos bucais em função do maior acesso a orientações de higiene bucal.…”