Comprehensive attention to oral health in early childhood: a longitudinal evaluation of the Infant Clinic Program of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
The Infant Clinic Program believes that oral care should begin within the first days of life in order to guarantee good oral health throughout life; however it has been observed that many dental professionals are not trained attend to this segment of the population.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the Infant Clinic course is to offer the theoretical and practical knowledge that dentists need to know in order to offer education, prevention and curative treatments, providing comprehensive attention to infants and young children.


METHODS
To evaluate the effectiveness of this Program, a longitudinal study was conducted with the children who participated in the Program during 2004 and 2005. The analysis was performed by first defining the profiles of 303 children before they came to the Infant Clinic, and comparing their oral status in 2004 and at the end of 2005 (12 months, Chi-square test, p < 0.01).


RESULTS
Of the 303 children observed in 2004, 72.87% came to the clinic for maintenance of oral health, compared to 14.83% who had caries lesions. During the first clinical examination (2004), it was observed that 57% of the children had good plaque control, while 33% of children had poor or very bad plaque control. After 12 months (2005), an increase in good plaque control was observed in the children (77.28% with good plaque control, and 22.72%poor or very bad plaque control) (p < 0.01). Through the treatment of active lesions, we verified a decrease in active lesions (from 82% to 32%) (p < 0.01). These results show the effectiveness of the program's education, preventive and curative procedures.


CONCLUSIONS
In addition to the positive experience of the Infant Clinic program, it was concluded that, with the support of treatment and parental education regarding healthy diet and oral hygiene for children, preventive procedures and curative treatment of existing lesions, oral health promotion for very young children was in fact achieved.
Figueiredo
Márcia Cançado
MC
Infant Clinic of University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. marciacf@myway.com.br
Guarienti
Cinthya Aline D
CA
Michel
Jorge Artur
JA
Sampaio
Mircelei Saldanha
MS
D001938:Brazil; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003190:Comprehensive Dental Care; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D014089:Tooth Remineralization
D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D005459:Fluorides