Oral health of nursery school children in the municipality of juruá, amazonas, brazil

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dental caries and malocclusion are responsible for much of the population’s oral health problems. A cross-sectional study was conducted through the investigation of the presence of dental caries and malocclusion in children in the municipality of Juruá, Amazonas state. The parents/guardians answered a questionnaire and a clinical examination was performed under natural light, with the aid of disposable wooden spatulas. To evaluate dental caries and malocclusion, the indices proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) were used. For the data analysis, the SPSS version 20.0 program and the Pearson Chi-square test were used, adopting a significance level of 5%.A total of 44 children participated in the study, just over half of which were males (24/54.5%); with 5 full years of age, (30/68.2%).Of their respective parents/guardians, the main responsible parent was the mother (29/65.9%). Most of the families (34/77.3%) have an income of up to the minimum wage and possess at leastelementary school education (25/56.8%). Most children brush teeth alone (37/84.1%), every day (31/70.5%), do not floss (38/86.4%),claim to have not received information about brushing (24/54.5%), and consume candy every day (20/45.5%). The mean ceo/CPO was 2.82 and the SIC index was 3.0. Only 27.3% (12) of the children were free of tooth decay. As for malocclusion, the majority (35/79.5%) of the children do not need to use braces according to the opinion of parents/guardians. A good part of the subjects(30/68.2% and 31/70.5%) had normal overjet and overbite respectively, and almost all (40/90.9%) presented an absence of posterior crossbite while the majority are considered to have normal occlusion; class I (79.5%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the variables ceo/CPO,the frequency of brushing (p<0.01) and the act of parental brushing of the child’s teeth (p= 0.03) and also with the amount of lost teeth (p=0.02). It can be concluded that the children presented unsatisfactory oral health since most presented the presence of cariesand had an average ceo/CPO of 2.82. Health education actions that provide guidance on the etiology and prevention of dental caries, on the importance of keeping the primary teeth healthy and in correct occlusion are evidently necessary for children and caregivers.