Dental pain associated with untreated dental caries and sociodemographic factors in 5-year-old children
SO. Paredes, R. da Nóbrega, TS. Soares, Maria de Fátima Bezerra, Maximiliano De Abreu, Franklin Delano Soares Forte
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental pain and to examine its association with untreated dental caries in 5-year-old children. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 261 5-year-old children in Northeast Brazil. Parents answered questions about their socioeconomic conditions and their children's toothache. Trained dentists assessed dental caries using the decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmf-t) index. Binary logistic regression models were used to estimate the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and the confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association of dental pain with covariates. The significance level was set at five percent. Results: The prevalence of dental pain was 28.7%, and 48.2% of children had untreated dental caries. Dental pain was associated with untreated dental caries (OR=5.7; 95% CI: 3.1-10.53; p<0.001) and living with one parent or other family members (OR=2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.4; p=0.008). Sociodemographic factors were not associated with dental pain. Conclusions: The prevalence of dental pain in preschool children is high, and this condition is associated with both untreated dental caries and living with one parent or other family members.