Andréia Drawanz Hartwig

Oral health-related quality of life in Brazilian child abuse victims: A comparative study

This study aims to assess and compare Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in child abuse victims and non-abused children in a Southern Brazilian city. The study compared two independent samples of children aged 8-10 years: 48 child abuse victims recruited from a centre for Child and Adolescent Psychological Support (NACA) for abused children, and 144 public and private school students. Data collection consisted of administration of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 8-10 (CPQ8-10) to measure OHRQoL (dependent variable), clinical examination (dental caries), and collection of socioeconomic and demographic information (age, sex, skin colour, family income, and type of school). Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the association between presence of abuse and OHRQoL and subscales. After adjustment for clinical and sociodemographic variables, child abuse victims were found to exhibit higher CPQ scores on the overall scale and on the oral symptoms and functional limitations subscales. In conclusion, child abuse victims have a higher impact on OHRQoL. Based on the results, it is possible to suggest that greater care should be taken of these children, not only in providing treatment for oral disorders, but also in providing interdisciplinary care.

Maternal care influence on children's caries prevalence in southern Brazil.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of specific maternal-factors on caries prevalence in offspring. This cross sectional study was conducted in Pelotas, Brazil nested in a cohort of adolescent mothers with children aged 24-42 months. A questionnaire was administered to collect information in relationship to socio-economic, demographic, and behavioral maternal variables. The outcome (childrens dental caries prevalence - dmfs > 0) was collected from clinical examinations. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. A total of 538 mother/child dyads were evaluated and 15.1% of the children exhibited caries. Adjusted multivariate analysis showed children from mothers living without partners (p < 0.027) had more caries than those living with partners. Maternal perception of a childs oral health was associated to occurrence of caries, particularly when mothers classified their child as poor and these children had a higher level of caries. In addition, mothers accurately evaluated their childs teeth when associated with caries occurrence. Maternal oral health care practices were associated with childrens caries prevalence. Our results demonstrated mothers accurately evaluated the oral health of their offspring.

The role of human milk and sucrose on cariogenicity of microcosm biofilms

This study investigated the effect of human milk, alone and associated with sucrose, in the cariogenicity of biofilms in a microcosm biofilm model and compared with the cariogenicity of sucrose and bovine milk. Microcosm biofilms were grown in enamel discs in 24-well plates. Six growth conditions were studied: DMM (chemically defined artificial saliva - negative control), DMM with 1% of sucrose (DMM+s) (positive control), human milk with DMM, human milk with DMM+s, bovine milk with DMM, and bovine milk with DMM+s. After 5 days, the outcome variables surface hardness change (%SHC), microbiological composition of biofilms, and pH of supernatant were analyzed. All groups had significantly lower hardness loss compared to the DMM group with 1% of sucrose. Human and bovine milk associated with sucrose showed higher hardness loss. The supernatant pH values after 6 hours of different treatments were similar for the groups sucrose and human milk associated with sucrose (p>0.05). After 18 hours at rest in pure DMM, an increase in the pH of the supernatant was observed. Higher values of total microorganisms count were found for sucrose and bovine milk groups compared to the group supplemented only by DMM. Bovine milk group showed greater amount of total aciduric microorganisms in comparison to human milk group. Within the limits of this study, it can be infered that both human and cow milks have some cariogenic potential, although differing from sucrose in terms of mineral loss.

Effectiveness of an oral health educational intervention for individuals with special health care needs from a southern Brazilian city: ORAL HEALTH INTERVENTION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS INDIVIDUALS

AIM To assess the effects of an oral health education strategy targeted at students with disabilities. METHODS This quasi-experimental study included students aged 7 to 24 years. The intervention was conducted for 5 weeks and divided into 2 phases: (1) comprising supervised toothbrushing and educational activities to students; (2) verbal oral health instructions and oral hygiene demonstration targeted at the caregivers. A clinical examination was conducted to evaluate the dental debris and gingival bleeding before the intervention, and the Wilcoxon test was performed after phase 1 and 2 for comparisons between paired samples. RESULTS A significant decrease in dental debris and gingival indices compared with baseline occurred after phase 1 (p < 0.05). After the meeting with caregivers (phase 2), there was significant decrease in the debris-index (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Providing a simple and short-term educational intervention to students with disabilities had a positive impact on their oral health.

Experience of Dental Caries and Use of Continuous Medication in Children with Neuropsychomotor Disorders

Objective: To identify the relation between the use of continuous medication by children with neuropsychomotor disorders and the development of the dental caries disease. Material and Methods: The data were obtained from medical and dental records of children, who were assisted in an extension project of the Dentistry School of the Federal University of Pelotas. Socio-economic variables, the disability diagnosis, the type and frequency of the continuous medication, and the dental caries experience registered in the dental record were collected. The data were evaluated by double typing, analyzed by descriptive statistics, and the associations were tested by the Qui-squared, Fisher exact, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The Stata Statistical Software, version 12.0, was utilized considering the level of significance of 5%. Results: 119 records were evaluated, and the results were distributed by age bracket due to the high age range. Undoubtedly, the cerebral palsy was the most prevalent (33.9%). From the total of the children, 68.8% were using continuous medication, and the majority (56%) uses medication there are more than 24 months. The anticonvulsants were the most used medications (33.8%), and 96.5% of the children used medication during the nocturnal period. Half of the utilized medications presented sucrose in its composition. Conclusion: A statistically significant association between the use of continuous medication, containing sucrose, and the dental caries experience were not observed, what suggests that other risk factors contribute to the disease installation.