The impact of social determinants on schoolchildren’s oral health in Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic status, home environment, and self-perception of health conditions on schoolchildren’s dental caries experience. A total of 515 twelve-year-old schoolchildren from Juiz de Fora, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were selected into a random multistage sample. The schoolchildren were examined for the presence of caries lesions using the decayed/missing/filled teeth (DMFT) index and categorized as caries-free (DMFT = 0) or with caries experience (DMFT > 0). The participants and their parents were asked to answer a questionnaire about socioeconomic status, home environment, and self-perception of their health conditions. The hierarchical multiple regression model was used to assess the associations, since a binary response variable was assumed. The bivariate analysis revealed that variables at four levels, such as type of school, monthly family income, parents’ education, home ownership, number of people living in the household, household overcrowding, parents’ perception of their children’s oral health, and schoolchildren’s self-perception of their oral health (p