Janice Simpson de Paula

The impact of socioenvironmental characteristics on domains of oral health-related quality of life in Brazilian schoolchildren

BackgroundRecent researches have pointed out the need to consider the functional and psychosocial dimensions of oral health, such as Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of oral health status, socioeconomic factors and home environment of children on the four health domains of Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14).MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Brazil with a sample of 286 schoolchildren aged 12 years and their parents. The schoolchildren were clinically examined, and participants were asked to complete the CPQ11-14, as well as a questionnaire about home environment. In addition, a questionnaire was sent to each child’s parents asking them about family socioeconomic status. The chi-square test and Poisson’s regression analysis were performed.ResultsAfter adjusting for potential confounders, variables sex, monthly family income, mothers’ education showed a statistically significant association with all health domains of the CPQ11-14. The family structure and presence of bleeding impacted on emotional (p = 0.0135), and social (p = 0.0010) well-being health domain scores. Orthodontic treatment need showed a strong negative effect on functional limitations domain score (p = 0.0021).ConclusionsClinical and socio-environmental factors had different impacts on domains of oral health-related quality of life, demonstrating the need to consider these conditions in planning strategies for the oral health of schoolchildren.

Longitudinal evaluation of the impact of dental caries treatment on oral health-related quality of life among schoolchildren

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of dental caries treatment on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among schoolchildren and the responsiveness of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ8-10 ) instrument. Brazilian schoolchildren, 8-10 yr of age, were randomly selected and assigned to two groups--dental caries treatment (DCT) and caries-free (CF)--according to their caries experience [decayed, missing, or filled primary teeth (dmft) and decayed, missing or filled secondary teeth (DMFT) values of ≥ 0]. The CPQ8-10 instrument was administered at baseline and at 4 wk of follow-up (i.e. 4 wk after completion of dental treatment). In the DCT group, increases in CPQ8-10 scores were observed between the baseline and follow-up results. However, longitudinal evaluation of the CF group demonstrated no statistically significant difference in CPQ8-10 scores. Responsiveness of the CPQ8-10 instrument (magnitude of change in CPQ8-10 scores) in the DCT group was greater (effect size >0.7) than in the CF group. The findings of this study show that dental caries treatment has an important impact on OHRQoL of children. The CPQ8-10 was considered an acceptable instrument for longitudinal measurement of changes in OHRQoL.

School performance and oral health conditions: analysis of the impact mediated by socio-economic factors

BACKGROUND Oral problems can cause strong impact on functional, emotional, and social aspects of children and adolescents, as well as changes in school performance. AIM To evaluate the associations of subjective perceptions of parents, socio-economic factors, and oral clinical conditions of children with their school performance. DESIGN A case-control design was used with a sample of 1411 schoolchildren aged 8-10 years from city of Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. Clinical conditions were evaluated using the DMFT and dmft indexes. Socio-economic data were obtained using a questionnaire sent to schoolchildrens parents. School performance was evaluated by the final scores of each schoolchild at the end of the 2011 school year. RESULTS According to the final logistic regression model, the schoolchildren who had carious lesions and underwent curative dental treatment at the beginning of the academic year presented 1.51 more chance of having low performance compared with schoolchildren who had no caries lesions. In addition, socio-economic and demographic variables were associated with a greater chance of poor school performance. CONCLUSION Socio-economic factors and presence of caries lesions, even if treated, were risk indicators for poor school performance.

Influence of deciduous molar hypomineralization on the development of molar-incisor hypomineralizarion

Defects similar to Molar-Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) in second primary molars can be found in the literature, being recently named Deciduous Molar Hypomineralization (DMH). Researchers have stated that the presence of DMH in primary dentition represents a risk for MIH in permanent teeth. The explanation for this association is probably related to the etiological factors. Aim: To investigate prospectively the association between DMH and MIH and the etiologic factors involved in both defects. Methods: One hundred and thirty four children aged 4 to 6 years from Botelhos, MG, Brazil, were evaluated six-monthly until they completed the eruption of the first permanent molars. A structured questionnaire was developed with questions about the child’s health up to the first year of life and the mother’s health during pregnancy. Results: It could be noted that, although most children with DMH in the primary dentition had higher incidence of MIH in permanent dentition, this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: None of the possible etiologic factors had associations with the studied enamel defects, even among children who presented two types of enamel defects in the mixed dentition. However, further studies with larger samples should be conducted in order to confirm or refute the findings of the present study.

Factors associated with the use of herbal medicines for oral problems by patients attending the clinics of the School of Dentistry, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil

AIM: To evaluate differences in sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, educational level and income) between users and nonusers of phytotherapy for dental purposes; the degree of populations knowledge of herbal medicines for dental needs; and whether patients inform the health professional about their use of phytotherapy. METHODS: A questionnaire was applied to 100 patients in waiting rooms of the School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, in 2008, to inquire about sociodemographic variables and other factors associated with the use of phytotherapy. Statistical analyses were carried out using the chi square statistical test to calculate association between the variables, with 0.05 as level of significance. RESULTS: It was observed that 64.8% of participants were women with a mean age of 43.9±15.1 years. Phytotheraphy use for treatment of oral problems was reported by 37% of patients interviewed in this study. Significant differences were found between users and non-users of herbal medicines for oral problems, associated with the patients age (p<0.05) and previous experience with use of phytotherapy to treat general health problems (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results emphasize the need for more scientific evidence of the efficacy of herbal medicinal products already incorporated in the popular knowledge to treat oral problems in order to make it an accessible and alternative method for prevention and therapy in dentistry.

Impact of oral health conditions on school performance and lost school days by children and adolescents: what are the actual pieces of evidence?

Aim: To investigate evidence of associations between oral health status of children and adolescents and their school performance and lost school days due to dental problems. Methods: PubMed electronic database was searched for scientific papers published between 1990 and 2013. Twenty-one papers that attempted to investigate the impact of oral health on school performance and lost school days were retrieved. Brief descriptions of each study’s methodology and outcomes were presented and discussed. Results: Although the papers reported statistically significant associations between school performance or lost school days and oral health conditions of schoolchildren, all of them were cross-sectional and ecological studies with an observational design, which may not provide full information about causes and effects. In addition, the lack of standardized criteria did not allow comparisons among the studies retrieved in the search. Conclusions: Oral diseases appear to impact on lost school days and school performance of children and policy-makers should address this issue when planning health promotion interventions in school settings. However, standardized materials and methodologies as well as longitudinal studies using valid and reliable criteria are needed to confirm the causes or risks of oral health factors in school performance, generating hypotheses for future research and providing important data for determining effective actions in school health programs.

Cost Assessment of Epidemiologic Surveys in Dentistry

Objective : The aim was to assess the relationship between the variability of data, sample size (n) and costs involved in epidemiologic surveys of dental caries. Research design and settings : In order to conduct this study, simulations of the variation in costs of hypothetic epidemiologic surveys were made and studied. Thus, all costs with reference to a survey were described and divided into two categories: fixed and variable. Outcome measures: The following margins of sampling errors were analyzed; 5%, 10%, 12% and 15% and the coefficients of variation (CV) evaluated were, 50%, 80%, 100% and 120%. Results: The required sample size increased with the reduction in the margin of error. For a CV of 50%, considering an error of 5%, the sample size was 384; for the same CV and error of 10%, n was 96. Thus it was observed that the relationship of sample size between the errors of 5% and 10 % was 4 times higher. Whereas with regard to cost, when an error of 5% was adopted, this was approximately three times higher when compared with the error of 10%. Conclusion: Thus, when planning sample calculation, it is important to consider the Coefficient of Variation and the coherent errors with the variables under study, thus avoiding overestimating the sample and, consequently, increasing the costs involved in the research. It is fundamental to consider the possibility of working with other margins of error, thereby maintaining scientific strictness and establishing adequate costs.