Análise de impacto de um programa de ações coletivas na prevenção e controle da cárie dental

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a collective intervention in the prevention and control of tooth decay among children and teenagers exposed to the activities of the “Centro Especializado de Odontologia Rodolfo Teófílo, em Fortaleza, Ceará. The study was descriptive and analytic with a cross-sectional sampling design. A total of 506, individuais, between 5 and 14 years old, living in the coverage area of this Health Service was enrolled in the project. The impact of the program was assessed comparing the means of incipient dental lesions and the total tooth decay experience, among exposed and not exposed children, adjusting for another risk factors. Information on demographic, socio-economic and behavioural variables were collected by means of a questionnaire. Moreover, three dental examinations and a three 24-horus diet recall were performed. The results have shown that, despite the higher prevalence of the risk factors for tooth decay among exposed children, overall, the mean of incipient dental lesions was similar in both groups. However, when significant differences (p-value < 0,05) were observed, higher means were present among not exposed children. On the other hand, the mean of the total tooth decay experience was higher among exposed than not exposed children. This results support that the collective inteventions had a satisfactory impact on the prevention and control of incipient dental lesions.