Revista de Saúde Pública (Jun 2001)
Prevalência e severidade da cárie dentária em escolares de seis e doze anos de idade Prevalence and severity of dental caries among schoolchildren aged six and twelve
Abstract
OBJETIVO: Investigar a prevalência e a severidade da cárie dentária e as necessidades de tratamento em escolares de 6 e 12 anos de idade, comparando-se os alunos de escolas públicas com os de privadas. MÉTODOS: Foi estudada a população de escolares do município de Blumenau, SC, a partir de uma amostra de 1.473 escolares, representativa de quatro estratos: escolares de 6 anos de escolas públicas, de 6 anos de escolas privadas, de 12 anos de escolas públicas e de 12 anos de escolas privadas. Utilizaram-se os critérios de diagnóstico da Organização Mundial de Saúde (1997). RESULTADOS: A prevalência de cárie na dentição decídua em escolares de 6 anos foi de 60,9% em escolas públicas e de 34,9% em escolas privadas (pOBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and severity of dental caries and to assess treatment needs among schoolchildren aged 6 and 12 in Blumenau, Brazil, and to compare the results found for private and public schools. METHODS: A schoolchildren population of Blumenau, SC, Brazil, was studied. A random sample of 1,473 schoolchildren from Blumenau, Brazil, was obtained. Four strata were studied: 6 and 12 years old schoolchildren attending public and private schools. WHO (1997) criteria for caries diagnosis and treatment needs were used. RESULTS: The prevalence of caries in the primary dentition of 6-years-old children was 60.9% and 34.9% in public and private schools (p<0.0001), respectively. The mean DMF-T for children aged 6 was 2.98 and 1.32 for public and private schools, respectively, (p<0.0001), and 2.42 for the whole sample. The prevalence of caries in the permanent dentition of 12-years-old children was 54.7% and the mean DMF-T was 1.46 for public schools. The response rate for private schools was low and the results could not be analyzed. Forty-two percent and 77.0% of children aged six of public and private schools, respectively, had no treatment needs. For those aged 12, the percentage was 53.0% for public schools. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of caries and the treatment needs among schoolchildren in Blumenau was low, but there was a statistically significant higher prevalence and higher severity in public school children aged six. The prevalence of caries and treatment needs at the age of 12 in public schools were also low.
Keywords