Jarbas Francisco Fernandes dos Santos

TMD and GOHAI indices of Brazilian institutionalised and community‐dwelling elderly

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES Considering the controversy in the literature regarding several aspects of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) in elderly populations and the absence of reliable data on elderly Brazilians in this field, this study consisted of an evaluation of TMD prevalence and the self-perception of oral health among institutionalised and community-dwelling elderly in São José dos Campos, Brazil. METHODS Two hundred and fifteen community-dwelling and 185 institutionalised elderly people were evaluated by the Helkimo anamnestic (Ai) and clinical dysfunction (Di) indices and answered a questionnaire using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). RESULTS The major prevalence of TMD symptoms was for the Ai0 (symptom-free) group (69.5%), while the major prevalence of clinical signs was for the DiI (mild) group (56%). Women presented a higher AiII classification than men (chi(2) test, p = 0.049). Community-dwelling elderly presented a significantly lower Ai0 classification than the institutionalised ones (Two ratios equality test, p < 0.001). There was no relationship between the institutionalised status and the clinical dysfunction index for Di0 and DiIII classification (Two ratios equality test, p = 0.194 and 0.535 respectively). The institutionalised elderly presented greater (One-way ANOVA = 0.005) self-perception of oral health (33.45) than did the community-dwelling group (32.66). There were only weak Pearsons correlations among the anamnestic (-33.0%) or clinical (-14.7%) findings by the TMD and GOHAI indices. Symptom-free (Ai0) institutionalised elderly presented better scores in all GOHAI dimensions and elderly representing an absence of clinical TMD signs (Di0) presented higher GOHAI physical dimension scores in both groups. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of TMD symptoms among this sample of elderly individuals was relatively low, self-perception of oral health was reasonable and a weak, inverse correlation was found between TMD signs and symptoms and elderly self-perception of oral health measured by the GOHAI index.

Incidence of sleep bruxism among children in Itanhandu, Brazil

PurposeSleep bruxism (SB) in children may be related to headaches and causes extensive damage of primary teeth. This paper evaluates the incidence of SB in children from Itanhandu, MG, Brazil.MethodsThe presence of teeth wear facets was verified through clinical examinations on a sample of children, whose parents answered a questionnaire about their children’s behavior and habits. Analysis of variance and chi-square tests (p = 0.05) were applied to identify possible correlations between the presence of SB and the parents’ responses to the questionnaire.ResultsThe sample comprised of 170 children, 51.76% (n = 88) of which were girls, while the average age was 4.37 (±1.69) years. A total of 15.29% (n = 26) had been diagnosed as bruxers, 46.47% displayed restless behavior, and only 10% used medication. The average duration of breastfeeding was 4.4 (±0.25) months. A positive correlation was found between restless behavior and the presence of SB (p < 0.001). No correlation was found between SB and medication (p = 0.573), or between the duration of breastfeeding and restless behavior (p = 0.102), SB (p = 0.565) and medication (p = 0.794).ConclusionRestless behavior was positively correlated with SB, although no correlation was found between SB and medication or duration of breastfeeding.

Sleep bruxism associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children.

AIMS Sleep bruxism (SB) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are often observed in children and may have several health implications. The aim of this paper is to evaluate their prevalence and to test for possible associations between these two conditions. METHODOLOGY The sample consisted of 496 children randomly selected among the preschoolers of Taubaté, Brazil; 249 (50·2%) were boys and 247 (49·8%) were girls. Diagnoses of SB and OSAS were made by clinical examinations and questionnaires filled out by the childrens parents in a cross-sectional design. Analysis of variance and Chi-square tests were applied to verify possible association among the variables in question. RESULTS The average age was 4·49 years (SD: ±1·04 years). A total of 25·6% were diagnosed with SB, while 4·83% were diagnosed with OSAS, and only 2·82% presented both conditions. A statistical association was found between SB and OSAS (P<0·001; Chi-square test): 11·03% of subjects with SB also presented with OSAS, and 97·18% of subjects without SB did not present with OSAS. No association was found among childrens gender and age and the presence of SB or OSAS. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of this study, SB was associated with OSAS.