Factors associated with dental cavity in children aged six to 36 months old, in Salvador-BA

this is a cross-sectional study on oral health condition of 535 children aged between six and 36 months old, at Family Health Units, in Salvador-BA. Information was collected on socioeconomic conditions, mother and child’s health, eating and oral hygiene habits, and oral examination.

Results:

the prevalence of dental cavity was 13.64% (CI95%=11.44 -15.84) and the factors associated were: child’s age, number of rooms in the house, “Bolsa Família” (Family Welfare) benefit, prenatal consultations, birth weight and exclusive breastfeeding.

Conclusions:

socioeconomic conditions strongly influenced oral health, as well as prenatal care and breastfeeding. To prevent childhood cavities, it is pertinent to invest in intersectoral actions and systematized programs, including the medical and nursing staff, as these actions are essential for integral care for the child’s health and quality of life

Key words:
Public health; Dental cavities; Oral health; Pediatric dentistry

Variables	Without Cavity (N=462)		With cavity (N=73)		Total		p
Variables	n	%	n	%	n	%	p
Child’s age (months)							0.028*
<17	222	89.88	25	10.12	247	46.16
≥17	240	83.33	48	16.67	288	53.13
Sex							0.941
Male	230	86.47	36	13.53	266	49.71
Female	232	86.25	37	13.75	269	50.28
Ethnicity*							0.353
White/ others	70	89.74	8	10.26	78	16.01
Mixed/ Black	351	85.82	58	14.18	409	83.93
Mother’s schooling*							0.120*
≤Elementary schooling complete	194	84.35	36	15.65	230	44.92
≥High School	251	89.01	31	10.99	282	55.07
Father’s schooling*							0.750
≤Elementary schooling complete	239	69.33	35	30.67	274	51.21
≥High School	223	67.65	38	32.85	261	48.78
Mother’s age (years)							0.108*
>25	255	88.65	33	11.35	288	53.13
≤ 25	207	83.92	40	16.18	247	46.16
Family income*							0.159*
>1 minimum wage	157	89.20	19	10.80	176	38.17
≤1 minimum wage	241	84.56	44	15.44	285	61.82
Maternal Marital status							0.746
Married/ Stable Union	351	87.15	55	12.85	406	75.88
Others	111	86.05	18	13.95	129	24.11
Number of siblings							0.153*
0-1	323	85.00	57	15.00	380	71.02
≥2	139	89.63	16	10.32	155	28.98
Number of household							0.866
≤ 4	337	86.51	53	13.49	390	72.89
>4	125	85.93	20	14.07	145	27.10
Type of home							0.082*
Own	280	84.5	52	15.50	332	62.17
Rented/ others	181	89.85	21	10.15	202	37.82
Number of rooms at home							0.107*
>4	274	88.56	36	11.44	310	57.94
≤4	188	83.71	37	16.29	225	42.05
Receiving Bolsa Familia (Family Welfare)							0.047*
No	245	83.80	48	16.20	293	83.00
Yes	217	89.79	25	10.21	242	17.00
Use of shared bed							0.439
No	122	84.67	22	15.33	144	26.91
Yes	340	87.30	51	12.70	391	73.08
Open demand							0.145*
No	390	87.44	56	12.56	446	83.36
Yes	72	81.61	17	18.39	89	16.63
Mother’s prenatal consultations							0.123**
>7	266	84.54	50	15.46	316	59.06
≤7	196	89.39	23	10.61	219	40.93
Apgar Score*							0.395
>8	298	88.32	39	11.68	334	95.42
≤8	13	81.25	3	18.75	16	4.57
Birth weight (g)							0.186*
>2499.99	421	87.39	63	12.61	484	90.46
≤ 2499.99	41	80.43	10	19.57	51	9.53
Type of childbirth							0.075*
Normal	253	83.96	48	16.04	301	56.26
Cesarean	209	89.38	25	10.62	234	43.73
Intervention after childbirth*							0.418
No	345	85.65	61	14.35	406	81.85
Yes	80	88.89	10	11.11	90	18.14
Difficulty in sucking at birth							0.099**
No	316	84.33	57	15.67	373	69.71
Yes	146	89.93	16	10.07	162	30.28
Immunization*							0.507
Complete	369	86.01	60	13.99	429	88.09
Incomplete	48	82.76	10	17.24	58	11.90
Exclusive breastfeeding (6 months)							0.042*
Yes	377	85.19	66	14.81	443	82.80
No	85	93.26	7	6.74	92	17.19
Night time breastfeeding*							0.431
No	29	90.63	3	9.38	32	6.80
Yes	375	85.62	63	14.38	438	93.19
Use of sugar*							0.572
No	21	91.30	2	8.70	23	8.91
Yes	205	87.23	30	12.77	235	91.08
Mouth hygiene/ brushing							0.708
Yes	258	87.15	39	12.85	297	55.51
No	204	86.03	34	13.97	238	44.48
Use of shared toothbrush*							0.746
No	339	86.26	54	13.74	393	84.33
Yes	64	87.67	9	12.33	73	15.66

Variable	PR	CI95%	p
Age (months)			0.037
<17	1.00	-
≥17	1.90	1.04- 3.45
Number of rooms at home			0.049
>4	1.00	-
≤ 4	1.78	1.01- 3.17
Receiving Bolsa Familia (Family Welfare)			0.045
No	1.00	-
Yes	0.54	0.30- 0.97
Number of prenatal consultations			0.031
≤7	1.00	-
>7	0.50	0.26- 0.94
Birth weight (g)			0.064
>2499.99	1.00	-
≤ 2499.99	2.25	1.05- 5.33
Exclusive breastfeeding (up to 6 moths)			0.035
Yes	1.00	-
No	2.88	1.07- 7.70

Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira Rua dos Coelhos, 300. Boa Vista, 50070-550 Recife PE Brasil, Tel./Fax: +55 81 2122-4141 - Recife - PR - Brazil
E-mail: revista@imip.org.br

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[1] The authors have approved the final version of the article and declare no conflict of interest.