Socio-Economic Factors and Risk Indicators for Caries in Primary Caregivers of Pre-School Children

Objective: To assess the frequency of risk factors for early-childhood caries (ECC) according to socio-economic data of primary care-takers (PCTs) for pre-school age children. Material and Methods: We conducted an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study with analytic components in 92 PCTs of children aged 0-5 years who consulted in the pediatric sections of 1 public and 1 private hospital and agreed to participate in the study. A semi-structured form validated by specialists was created with 9 questions related to the care-takers and 8 questions concerning the children. The variables studied were child age, educational level, family income, type of dental care performed, and selected ECC indicators. Tabulation of data was done using an Excel 2010 spreadsheet. Frequency analysis and variable association (Z test) were performed with alpha deemed to be 0.05. Results: Only 10 primary care-takers (10.86%) identified fluoride as a substance capable of strengthening teeth, while 89 (96.73%) reported a history of dental caries. Statistical association was found for: presenting complaint with family income (p= 0.0002), education level (p= 0.004), and type of dental care performed (p= 0.00003); as well as between a fatalistic attitude toward dental health and educational level (p= 0.04) and family income (p= 0.04). Conclusion: A high frequency was found for some ECC risk indicators, as was a variation in the frequency of these risk indicators according to the socio-economic indicators used, with important associations found between variables, findings that can influence the identification of at-risk patients and disease management.