Cárie dentária em escolares de Goiânia no período de 1988 a 2010: tendência e desigualdades

Abstract

Epidemiological surveillance of oral health at the municipal level may provide useful information for local public policies and elucidate more specific questions about health inequalities in the country that, for operational reasons, cannot be included in national surveys. Objective: To describe trends in the prevalence and severity of dental caries in 12 year-old children attending public schools in Goiânia from 1988 to 2010 and to assess the distribution of the disease according to the county Health Districts (HD). Material and Method: Data from cross-sectional studies carried out in the investigated period were analysed. Spearman correlation coefficient was used for the analysis of caries prevalence tendency. Comparisons among the HD were carried out in 1994 and 2010. Results: The DMFT decreased 78.5% in the analyzed period, from 8.26 in 1988 to 1.78 in 2010 (r= -1.0; p≤ 0.01) and there was a 86.8% reduction in the average number of decayed teeth, 73.3% of missing and 41.7% of filled teeth. There was also an increase of 86.8% in the number of caries- free schoolchildren from 1994 to 2010 (r= 1.0; p≤ 0.01). Schoolchildren from institutions located in the HD with the worst socioeconomic indicators had higher caries prevalence and lower reductions compared with those attending schools located in HD with better indicators. Conclusion: There was a decline in dental caries prevalence in Goiânia from 1988 to 2010 and inequalities in the distribution of the disease among the county districts, as a reflex of their socioeconomic conditions.