title: Socioeconomic and clinical factors associated with caregivers' perceptions of children's oral health in Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We assessed how socioeconomic and clinical conditions could affect parents' perceptions of their child's oral health.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 455 children, aged 1-5 years, representative of Santa Maria, a southern city in Brazil. Participants were randomly selected among children attending a National Day of Children's Vaccination. Clinical examinations provided information on the prevalence of caries, dental trauma, and occlusion. The caregivers' perception of children's oral health and socioeconomic status were assessed by means of a questionnaire. A Poisson regression model using robust variance (Prevalence ratio: PR; 95% CI, P ≤ 0.05) was performed to assess the association between the predictor variables and outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents were more likely to rate their child's oral health as 'poor' if the former earned a lower income and the latter had anterior open bite and dental caries. Parents of black children with anterior open bite and dental caries were more likely to rate their child's oral health as 'worse than that of other children'.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinical and socioeconomic characteristics are significantly associated with parents' perceptions of their child's oral health. Understanding the caregivers' perceptions of children's oral health and the factors affecting this could be useful in the planning of public health polices, in view of the inequity in the oral health pattern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Chaiana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piovesan
authors.forename: Macela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marquezan
authors.forename: Paulo F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bönecker
authors.forename: Thiago M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Ardenghi
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D024343:Open Bite / Q000523:psychology; D009909:Oral Health; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires