<b>School performance of pre-school children with severe caries</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascihealthsci.v25i2.2164

Abstract

The study evaluated and compared school performance of caries-free and severe caries of 4-year-old children by their teachers’ perception. The selected group consisted of 101 preschoolers from 4 randomly chosen municipal schools in the city of Recife, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, in 2002. All the study data was collected by 3 examiners by applying validated questionnaires to the teachers. Forty-one children were selected from the initial sample of 101. Thirty-two were caries-free and 9 had severe caries (31.7% and 8.9%, respectively). The caries-free group presented more attention to teachers’ explanation and less difficulty in school tasks than the severe caries group. They also did not have absences in school caused by their teeth, but this happened with children from group B. The teachers did not observe differences between the 2 groups in oral school participation and word pronunciation. Neither of children from caries-free group received constrained nickname related to their teeth, although 11% from severe caries group have received it. The teachers considered that 22% from severe caries group presented damage in their school performance caused by their teeth. Severe caries group school performance can be affected by their oral health. Researches have to be developed to better evaluate the impact of severe caries in school performance.