Prevalência de cárie dentária em bebês da área de abrangência do Centro de Saúde Jardim Europa: um estudo transversal

Abstract

The dental caries is an infecto-contagious disease of bacterial origin. It is characterized by the destruction of dental tissues by acids produced through the fermentation of carbohydrates of the diet. The clinical condition baby's bottle caries is a specific type of acute caries, characterized by involving a great tooth number, fast evolution and for appearing on surfaces considered of low risk. It is present in situations where the child has habits of frequent nocturnal breast-feeding, during sleep. Given the rate of its progression, it results in injuries of great severity, with extensive dental destruction and, not rarely, appearing at pulp tissue. The prevention of these annoyances and the maintenance of a healthy development of the deciduous dentition are primordial for the execution of dental praxis based on the health promotion. The aim of this study is to identify the prevalence of dental caries and habits of breast-feeding in babies aging from 0 to 36 months of the surrounding area around the Centro de Saúde Jardim Europa in Belo Horizonte /MG. 69 babies had been examined, regularly attended by the unit, and a questionnaire was applied to its legal responsible persons or mothers, dealing with relative questions circa the breast-feeding habits. For 28.9% of the examined sample, the children did not receive any extra type of breast-feeding, 23.1% sucked at the maternal breast and 48% used the baby's bottle. In this last group, the most frequently added foods to bovine milk were in decreasing sequence: sugar; the farinaceous ones and the chocolated ones. Amongst the interviewed legal responsible persons, 46.3% had answered that the babies had the habit to suckle during sleep, and children, who make it up to 5 times in one same night, were identified. The DMFS index found was 1.98. Around 59.4% of the babies were free of caries, being the bigger percentage (65%) among those that do not have the breast-feeding habit anymore. Facing the results, it is evident that the necessity of promoting the knowledge amongst the pregnant and breastfeeder of the risks of frequent nocturnal breast-feeding, as well as instructing them on healthful alimentary habits for its children. The interventions proposal encloses a series of procedures aiming a wider approach of the state of dental health of the babies of the area surrounding the Centro de Saúde Jardim Europa, and the establishment of health promotion procedures, that will better provide the orientation of the legal responsible person or mothers, pregnant ones and about the caries of baby's bottle and the forms of prevention and control, as well as the establishment of procedures of intervention for health recovery, in the cases where the sequels of the illness are already present.