Experiência de cárie dentária: fatores associados aos seus impactos nas atividades de vida diária e questionamento ao tratamento da doença

Abstract

Dental caries is a biofilm-sugar dependent, non-transmissible and dynamic, multifactorial condition resulting in mineral loss of hard dental tissues. It is determined by biological, behavioral, psychosocial and environmental factors. The management of this condition should consider the etiological factors to prevent, control and treat it. Although most clinical trials have focused on operative/restorative techniques for the treatment of dental caries, this approach only addresses the consequences of the disease: the lesions. These can impact daily activities of individuals, either in social relationships (aesthetics), pain or even absenteeism from work. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with dental caries through a multidimensional treatment questioning of the disease and to verify the impact of its clinical manifestations on the daily activities of Brazilian adults. This research is a cross-sectional study using the database of the National Survey of Oral Health Conditions in Brazil. Adults (35-44 years) were interviewed and clinically examined by trained and calibrated examiners. Dental caries lesion was assessed by the DMFT index (decayed, missing and filled teeth). The mean number of teeth with untreated caries (crown) was 1.47. The presence of one or more teeth with cavitated caries lesions (crown) was higher among adults with filled and carious teeth (one or more) (p<0.05). Thus, there is a higher prevalence of cavitated dental caries lesions among adults who have already been treated by dentists for restorative treatments. These findings suggest that the patient was treated by dentists for restorative and invasive treatments, not focusing on the treatment of the disease, continuing to develop new caries lesions. As for the impact of caries on daily activities, 52.3% of the survey participants had an impact of oral health conditions on daily life, with the average of this indicator being 1.6 (1.56-1.69), such findings suggest an association between the condition of the crown and the experience of caries and the impact on activities of daily living. Among individuals who had teeth with caries and teeth lost due to caries, there was an increased chance of impact on activities of daily living (total OIDP), due to the fact that they were associated with all nine dimensions of the OIDP studied.