Dental caries and sociodemographic factors in children with and without clefts

Abstract

Background: individuals with cleft lip and palate present poor oral hygiene and their parents often fear touching the cleft region, contributing to a higher caries risk. Objective: to describe the caries prevalence and its correlation with sociodemographic factors and oral hygiene care in children with cleft lip and palate, compared to children without clefts. Methodology: this prospective cross-sectional study evaluated 145 children aged 7 to 66 months with clefts (27.0±17.9 months). The comparative group included 130 children without clefts (38.5±17.99 months). The evaluation was performed by the dmft index, and the relatives replied to a questionnaire addressing sociodemographic aspects, dietary habits and oral hygiene. The significance level adopted was 5%. Results: the caries prevalence was 30% in the cleft group and 21.53% in the comparative group (x2, p=0.089). The mean dmft index was 1.5±3.3 for the cleft group and 0.8±1.9 for the comparative group (T test, p=0.072). The sociodemographic aspects, oral hygiene and dietary habits did not influence the occurrence of caries (p>0.001). Conclusion: there was higher caries prevalence in children with clefts on the maxillary incisors, lower access to breastfeeding and earlier introduction of sugar in their diet. The relatives reported more fear during oral hygiene, yet it was initiated earlier than in the comparative group.