Longitudinal evaluation of a dentistry program direction the children of education institutions in infant of Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to accomplish a longitudinal evaluation of a dentistry program preventive related to children (4 and 5 years old) of families living in poor regions and that are attending Children Education Institutions in the city of Piracicaba. This work consisted of two groups: control (G1) and test (G2). All children of G2 accomplished promotion actions and prevention in health, fluoride use (in agreement with dental caries risk) and supervised oral hygiene. Kappa, the t-test paired and the qui-square (p < 0.05) were used. At the end of the work, group G1 did not show differences to any of the analyzed clinical characteristics and in group G2 it was verified that the children presented less dental plaque (p = 0.047). Besides, when analyzing the needs for dental treatment separately, it was observed that there were differences in pulpar treatment only (p = 0.04). After 18 months of study it was possible to conclude that G2 showed better results concerning the dental plaque control when compared to G1; however, it is relevant to consider the monitoring of the volunteers for a longer period since it is recognized that the decrease of the plaque control influences the dental caries activity, and consequently, the natural history of the disease.