Efficacy of a public promotion program on children's oral health

Abstract

Objective: To assess the efficacy of the Baby's Mouth early dental care prevention and promotion program in preventing oral diseases (caries, gingivitis, or malocclusions) in children attended since 2010.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional and cohort study that assessed 252 children between 36 and 60 months of age in both sexes. The children were divided into three groups: G1: effective participants of the program from birth; G2: children who have stopped participating for more than 24 months, and G3: children who have never attended a prevention program. The evaluation was carried out in two stages: first, an interview with the mothers and, afterwards, a clinical children examination to assess the presence of caries, gingivitis, and malocclusion. The chi-squared test was used for statistical analysis between groups (p<0.05).

Results: The diseases assessed were: caries (G1: 5.9%, G2: 54.7%, G3: 70%), gingivitis (G1: 8.3%, G2: 17.9%, G3: 40.5%), and malocclusion (G1: 22.6%; G2: 28.6%; G3: 50%). For gingivitis, there was no significant difference when comparing G1 and G2 (p=0.107), but it was significant between G1 and G3 (p<0.001). Regarding malocclusion, a statistically significant relationship was observed (p=0.004) among all groups.

Conclusion: The prevention and promotion program in public oral health was effective in preventing caries disease, gingivitis, and malocclusion in children under 5 years of age.

Keywords: Cáries dentárias; Dental caries; Odontopediatria; Oral health; Pediatric dentistry; Prevenção Primária; Primary prevention; Public health; Saúde Pública; Saúde bucal.