Dental caries in 12-year-old children and associated factors: socio-economic, family environment, access and use of dental services aspects

A cross-sectional and quantitative study aimed at analyzing socio-economic, family environment, access and use of dental services, subjective aspects and their relationship with dental caries in 253 children aged 12 years old enrolled in municipal schools of a medium-sized municipality of south of Brazil. A clinical examination was carried out to collect cases of dental caries using the decayed, missing and filled teeth index (DMFT), classifying children into two groups: Group 1: Caries Free and Group 2: With caries experience. A questionnaire was applied to mothers or women in charge for the children. The presence of dental caries was observed in 41.1% of the children with an average DMFT index of 0.96. The multivariate analysis identified that, among socioeconomic factors, income and quantity of goods were associated with dental caries. The factors related to the family environment are not characterized as predictive factors for dental caries. In the perception of the mothers, the children with experience of dental caries seek more the service for treatment. In this context, it is necessary to understand the complexity involved in the development of dental caries, and interprofessional work may represent an important strategy, since it aims the integral care in oral health care.