Predisposing Factors For Dental Caries in Brazilian Children

Objectives: Despite great achievements in oral health, dental caries remains prevalent among children in many parts of the world (McGrath et al., 2004; Nuttall et al., 2006). Moreover, the socioeconomic status is a significant problem associated to the disease (Feitosa et al., 2005; Livny et al., 2007; Marshall et al., 2007; Warren et al., 2008). The aim of this cross-sectional study was evaluate the predisposing factors for dental caries in Brazilian children.

Methods: The sample was composed of 1204 children between 8 and 10 years of age, from public and private schools of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. It was used the DMF/dmf-T index and the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of caries disease. The socioeconomic status was evaluated through the type of school, number of people in household, the Social Vulnerability Index, which is a Brazilian measure, parent’s schooling and familiar income. The sample was divided in two groups considering the severity of the disease. Group 1 was composed of children with DMF/dmf-t score of 0 or 1, while group 2 was composed of children with DMF/dmf-t score higher than 1. The statistical analysis was performed using a descriptive approach and univariate and multivariate Poisson regression.

Results: All the variables, except the number of people in household, were statistically associated to a higher severity of the disease (p< 0.05) and children, who study in public schools in Brazil, were 2.4 times more likely to be in the group of children with higher dental caries experience.

Conclusions: The type of school was the social variable that most determined the dental caries experience in Brazilian children.