Program of dental assistance to adolescent: impact on oral health

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the project named “Dental Assistance to Adolescents of the III Millennium” carried out by the Dentistry Course in a University of the State of Minas Gerais-Brazil. Methods: All the participants treated during the second semester of 2003 were examinated at the beginning and at the end of the treatment, after educational, preventive and restoratives procedures. The indices used for evaluation were DMFT, Quigley-Hein’s plaque index and CPI, according to the criteria recommended by WHO. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and GMC/2002 software. Paired t test was used for statistic analyzes (p<0.05). Results: From the 25 participants, 54% were male, and the average age was 14.4 years (sd:2.06). The results showed a significant increase of the final DMFT (41.28%), due to an expressive decrease of the component D (63.15%) and an increase of the component F (78.46%). There was no significant change between the first (IE) and the final (FE) periodontal examination (IE:1.70; FE:1,79). The most prevalent periodontal problem was bleeding on probing (IE: 64%; FE:52%). There was no significant difference between the average of sound and bleeding sextants (sound-IE:3.16; FE:4.00 – bleeding:IE:2.00, FE:1.96), but there was a significant decrease of the average of sextants with calculus (IE:0.84; FE:0.04). Conclusions: It was concluded that although there was an increase in the DMFT, there was an improvement of the adolescent’s bucal condition, as there was an increase of the component F. The persistence of the bleeding on probing suggests the necessity of a reevaluation of the program, regarding educational activities.