Socioeconomic status and health conditions associated with incidence of dental caries in Brazilian children

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and severity of caries in primary and permanent dentition and to investigate the association between disease distribution and socio-demographic conditions, oral hygiene, and dietary habits of a population of schoolchildren in three districts of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2012. This study involved 753 schoolchildren, aged 3–15 years, of two socio-economic levels: a low level, in a public school and kindergarten; and a high level, in a private school. The mean decayed, missing and filled deciduous infant teeth (dmft) values in children age 6 years and decayed, missing, and filled permanent adult teeth (DMFT) at 12 years were similar between children in the public school (dmft, 1.53; DMFT, 0.56) and the private school (dmft, 1.53; DMFT, 0.28). A low DMFT is associated with the habit of cleaning teeth after eating sweet foods, when the fathers were employed at the time of the child’s birth and if children started to brush their teeth earlier than 3 years of age. The data show that oral health monitoring of schoolchildren is a significant factor that can reduce dental caries, even in children from poor families. It is necessary to educate children to brush teeth before the 3 years of age, and to create prevention programs for children whose fathers are unemployed.