Determinant factors of toothache in 8- and 9-year-old schoolchildren, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence, severity and impact of toothache among schoolchildren associated with socio-demographic variables (gender, degree of maternal schooling, economic group, and oral health status). Six hundred and one 8- and 9-year-old children were randomly selected from schools in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. After formal authorization was obtained from their parents, the children were interviewed and clinically examined by a single examiner. The Chi squared test was applied and the odds ratio obtained. The prevalence of toothache was 45.9% (276/601), of which 15.6% (94/601) had occurred during the previous month. Among the children who had experienced pain, 39.4% (109/276) classified its severity as intense or very intense. Nearly 35% (96/276) were awoken by the pain, and 63.8% (176/276) were unable to carry out daily tasks as a result. The prevalence of pain was greater among children from less privileged economic groups, in which the mothers' level of schooling was lower (0-7 years of formal study) and who showed poorer conditions of oral health, determined by the presence of dental and periodontal pathology (p <or= 0.05). Gender did not influence either the experience of toothache or its severity and impact. The prevalence of toothache found in the age group between 8 and 9 years is very high and associated to social determinants and poorer conditions of oral health.
Barrêtto
Eliane Paula Reis
EP
School of Dentistry, Mário Penna Campus, Vale do Rio Verde University (UNINCOR), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. barrettoeliane@gmail.com
Ferreira
Efigênia Ferreira e
EF
Pordeus
Isabela Almeida
IA
D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D004522:Educational Status; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014098:Toothache / Q000453:epidemiology*