Claides Abegg

Hábitos de higiene bucal e utilização de serviços odontológicos em escolares de uma cidade da Região Sul do Brasil

This study evaluated oral hygiene habits and use of dental services among teenage students, and analyzed their association with sociodemographic factors and life styles. This cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 1,170 seventh-graders from municipal public schools of Gravatai, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The Cox regression model for univariate analysis, modified for cross-sectional studies, was used to analyze the association between variables. Of the adolescents included in the study, 77.8% brushed their teeth three or more times a day, 31.9% flossed daily, 68.9% visited the dentist regularly, and 50% visited the dentist for dental treatment. Tooth brushing was more frequent among female adolescents. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with a lower frequency of daily flossing, fewer annual dental visits, and a greater prevalence of dental treatment visits. Similar results were found for adolescents with a sedentary lifestyle or that had tried smoking. The consumption of candy was associated with lower frequency of annual dental visits, and the consumption of soft drinks, with greater frequency of treatment visits. A healthy life style was associated with better oral hygiene habits and more frequent dental visits.

O papel do cirurgião-dentista no Sistema Único de Saúde

O Sistema Unico de Saude e um processo social em construcao permanente, sendo fundamental a continua discussao sobre seu modelo de atencao, os paradigmas explicativos do processo saude-doenca que o embasam e o papel de diferentes profissionais que nele atuam. Esse trabalho objetiva a discussao sobre a atuacao do cirurgiao-dentista no SUS. Uma forma de sistematizar suas possibilidades de atuacao e a sua insercao no sistema. Em nivel central ou distrital, deve atuar em equipes interdisciplinares no planejamento de politicas publicas saudaveis e no desenvolvimento de acoes de vigilância da saude da coletividade. Considerando os campos de acao propostos pela Carta de Otawa, as atribuicoes do cirurgiao-dentista, em nivel local, podem ser direcionadas para o fortalecimento de acoes comunitarias, o desenvolvimento de habilidades pessoais e a reorientacao dos servicos de saude. E necessaria a readequacao dos cursos de odontologia para formar profissionais capacitados a exercerem uma pratica que atenda ao SUS e a continua capacitacao dos profissionais ja graduados atuando no sistema.

Fatores associados a hábitos de saúde bucal e utilização de serviços odontológicos entre adolescentes

This was a cross-sectional study of 1,170 seventh-grade adolescents from the municipal public school system in Gravatai, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, investigating the association between socio-demographic, psychosocial, and lifestyle factors and oral health habits and use of dental services. Data were analyzed by Cox regression, modified for cross-sectional studies. Females showed higher frequency of brushing, as did adolescents that reported not feeling alone or discriminated. Daily flossing was associated with higher socioeconomic status (SES), use of private dental services, parental understanding, and lack of feeling of loneliness. Frequency of annual dental visits was higher among individuals with higher SES. Preventive dental checkups were more frequent among individuals with higher SES, those who felt understood by their parents, and those who did not habitually eat candy. Oral health habits were associated with family SES and psychosocial factors except for frequency of annual dental visits. As for lifestyle, low candy consumption had a positive impact on reasons for use of dental appointments.

O impacto odontológico no desempenho diário dos trabalhadores do departamento municipal de limpeza urbana de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of oral health impact on daily performance in Brazilian adults. 276 civil servants 35 to 44 years of age from the Public Works and Waste Disposal Department of Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, were interviewed and clinically examined. Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP) was used to evaluate the impact of oral health status on daily performance. 73.6% of all subjects had at least one daily performance affected by an oral impact in the previous six months. The most commonly affected performance was eating (48.6%), while the most common symptoms were discomfort (40.6%) and dissatisfaction with ones appearance (31.5%). Missing teeth (21.7%) and toothache (20.7%) were recognized as the main causes of oral impacts on daily performance. OIDP was useful for measuring (physically, psychologically, and socially) the oral impacts on daily performance.

Hábitos de higiene bucal e uso de serviços odontológicos por adolescentes e adultos do município de Canoas, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Summary The study aimed an investigation of oral hygiene methods and use of dental services by adolescents and adults in the Municipality of Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. This population-based, cross-sectional study found an average of tooth brushing three times a day. More than a half of the sample revealed no use of dental floss. “After lunch” was the moment of the day most chosen for teeth cleaning. Oral hygiene was more frequently performed by women, young adults, and people with higher number of school years. The almost totality of the sample had visited the dentist at least once in their life. The most frequent reason was oral health follow-up. The great majority of the people self-reported use of private dental services. Frequency of tooth brush was high, however use of dental floss was restricted. Public service contributed to a very low percentage of dental service’s provision, a situation that implies deeper analysis about the barriers to access to dental assistance.

Factors associated with oral health perception in older Brazilians

OBJECTIVES To investigate the self-perception of oral health in older people, aged 65-74, from the central region of southern Brazil. METHODS Cross-sectional population-based study using data from the Oral Health Conditions Survey of Southern Brazil, developed between the years 2002 and 2003, by the State Health Secretary (SHS) of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. Socioeconomic and demographic variables, self-perception of oral health and clinical data, as well as dental pain were evaluated in 618 elderly people. Multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of explanatory variables on the self-perception of oral health. RESULTS Almost half of the elderly were edentate and rated their oral health as good or very good. With regard to dental pain, 28.8% of the people declared that they had experienced dental pain in the 6 months before the interview. There was a significant relationship between dental pain and classification of oral health, and chewing ability. Following adjustment, the need for dental prostheses remained associated with the influence of oral health on establishing relationships. Similarly, personal income remained associated with the elderlys perception of their ability to talk. Finally, the level of education remained related to the influence of oral health status in peoples relationships. CONCLUSION Dental pain and the need for dental prostheses were the main factors that affected the self-perception of oral health of elderly people from southern Brazil.

Relationship between oral clinical conditions and daily performances

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of oral status on the daily performances of civil servants from the Public Works and Waste Management Department of the city of Porto Alegre, located in Southern Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample composed of 276 civil servants with ages ranging from 35 to 44 years. The Oral Impacts on Daily Performances index developed was employed to measure impacts caused by oral clinical conditions. Oral examinations were performed after the interviews. Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis was used. After adjusting for sex and educational level, the results showed that the subjects with high DMFT scores were 5.8 times (95% CI = 2.1-16.1) more likely to have high impacts on their everyday life than those with low DMFT scores. Subjects that presented some coronal caries were 4.3 times (95% CI = 1.9-9.8) more likely to have high impacts on their everyday life than those with no coronal caries. Dental status assessed through the DMFT index and coronal caries are important indicators of impacts on the everyday life of the studied population.

Estudo sobre a fluorose dentária num município do sul do Brasil

The objective of this article is to determine the frequency and severity of dental fluorosis, as well as to verify possible associations with dental caries, gender, age, ethnicity and geographic location of schools in schoolchildren of 12 years old and from 15 to 19 years in the city of Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. A total of 633 schoolchildren of both genders at the cited ages, enrolled in 26 public schools of fundamental teaching were involved in the epidemiological study. The inspection was performed by three examiners previously trained to apply Deans Index. The prevalence of dental fluorosis in the studied group was of 32.8%. Predominant degree was the very light (78.4%), followed by light (11.1%), questionable (8.7%) and moderate (1.9%). The prevalence of dental fluorosis was expressive in this population, however, with a low degree of severity. Factors such as age and dental caries index showed to be related to the variable response.

Relationship between Sense of Coherence and oral health in adults and elderly Brazilians.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and oral health clinical variables (number of teeth present and absence of need for dental prostheses). The sample consisted of 720 adults and elderly Brazilians. The data were collected at home using the SOC-13 scale - a form of clinical examination for the evaluation of oral conditions - and a questionnaire evaluating socioeconomic aspects and the use of dental services. Statistical analysis, both univariate and multivariate, was performed by Poisson regression with robust variance adjustment. The average age of the participants was 60.2 years, and they were predominantly female (57.8%). Among the participants who had a strong SOC, the absence of the need for dental prostheses was 34% higher than among those with a weak SOC, demonstrating a significant difference between the groups (PR = 1.34, 95%CI = 1.06-1.70; p = 0.015). Individuals who had a strong SOC had a 5% higher prevalence of 14 or more existing teeth than those with a weak SOC, which was statistically significant after adjustment for co-factors (PR = 1.05, 95%CI = 1.01-1.11, p = 0.033). A strong personal Sense of Coherence has a beneficial influence on the oral health of adults and older people in Brazil.

Occupational stress and self-perceived oral health in Brazilian adults: a Pro-Saude study

The scope of this study is to investigate the association between occupational stress and self-perception of oral health. Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire filled out in a Pró-Saúde Study by 3253 administrative technical staff from Rio de Janeiros State University. Occupational stress was measured by means of a questionnaire elaborated in 1970 by Karasek, duly shortened by Thorell in 1988. Ordinal logistic regression was used for data analysis, subsequently adjusted for three blocks of variables. Workers exposed to high occupational demands and little occupational control and to passive work had higher chances of self-perception of worse oral health, when compared with those exposed to low occupational demands, there being no association observed in those exposed to active work. However, in the multiple regression model the following estimates were reduced in magnitude and lost statistical significance, namely high occupational demands and passive work. Workers exposed to high occupational demands revealed worse self-reported oral health, which seems to be partly explained by health behavior patterns, the presence of oral health problems and seeking dental services at longer intervals than once per year.