[Oral health among adolescents: aspects relating to hygiene, dental cavities and periodontal disease in the cities of Recife and Feira de Santana, Brazil].
To characterize the oral health in adolescents in the cities of Recife and Feira de Santana, Northeast Brazil by assessment of personal hygiene and dental cavities and periodontal disease.



Forty adolescents between ten and eighteen years old were assessed through an exploratory study run in Recife in 2005. In Feira de Santana, 971 adolescents (twelve years old) were examined through a cross section study in 2002. It was assessed cavity status through the number of cavitied, missing and filled teeth, visible dental plaque, bleeding gums and periodontal status. The analysis was based on Chi-Square, Kruskall-Wallis and Fisher tests, with a confidence interval of 95%.



The most of adolescents followed oral hygiene practices three times a day. The DMTF values presented a median of 1.5 in Recife and averages of 1.89 in state schools, 2.17 in municipal schools and 2.39 in private schools in Feira de Santana. The bleeding gum in Recife presented a median of 27%, and in Feira de Santana the healthy sextant averages of 4.36, 4.08 and 5.16 in state, municipal and private schools respectively.



The frequency of the dental cavities was low, with most of the adolescents reporting good habits of oral hygiene and favorable periodontal conditions.
Nogueira dos Santos
Nilton Cesar
NC
Departamento de Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA, nogueira@uefs.br
Alves
Tecia Daltro Borges
TD
Freitas
Valéria Souza
VS
Jamelli
Silvia Regina
SR
Cavalcanti Sarinho
Emanuel Sávio
ES
D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population