Access to Dental Care among Adolescents with Heart Disease

Objective: To evaluate the access of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years with heart disease to oral health services at a reference hospital in the city of Recife, Brazil. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Cardiology Clinic of Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP) from April to September 2015 using a convenience sample of 83 adolescents with heart disease. A questionnaire was administered in interview form to adolescents and/or parents/guardians to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, the use of dental services and oral health habits. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and association tests (chi-square test and Fisher's exact test), with the significance level set to 5% to identify possible associated factors. Results: Fifty-two adolescents (62.7%) had never been denied dental care due to their condition. Public services accounted for 66.3% of the care offered. Checkup/prevention was the main reason for seeking care (39.8%). Many of the adolescents exhibited inadequate oral hygiene habits. Forty-four (53%) did not brush their teeth regularly at night and 66 (79.5%) did not floss. No statistically significant association was found between access to dental care and social class (p=0.148), with whom the adolescent resided (p=0.607), birth order (p=0.598), race (p=0.068), education level of the head of the household (p=0.828) or scholastic failure on the part of the adolescent (p=0.196). Conclusion: Most adolescents with heart disease obtained dental care, although most did not have adequate hygiene habits. Moreover, socio-demographic, psychosocial and behavioral factors exerted no influence on access to oral health services. Further studies on this issue are needed.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of the Nursing Team Regarding Oral Health Care in Intensive Care Units in a Reference Hospital of Recife, Brazil

Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses regarding oral health care in intensive care units. Material and Methods: Developed in a Reference Hospital of Recife, Brazil carried out from July to September 2013. Overall, 282 professionals participated through a questionnaire to evaluate KAP on oral health care. Data were analyzed using Stata 12.0. For comparison, the Student t test and ANOVA with 0.05 significance level were used. Results: 45 (16 %) were professional nurses and 237 (84 %) belonged to the nursing team. 71.1 % of nurses and 72 % of nursing technicians failed to adequately respond as to know the daily frequency of oral hygiene performance, 75.6% of the surveyed nurses were aware of the use of chlorhexidine; however, only 37.7% of technicians considered this substance appropriate. Regarding attitude among nursing technicians, from the 11 questions, only two reached more than 90% of requirements. Regarding practice, when it came to items of medical record entries about the care provided, the percentage of inadequacy was 35.6 % among nurses and 26.2 % among nursing technicians, and the oral cavity conditions of patients, the frequency was 35.6 % and 26.2 % respectively. The average practice among nursing technicians was higher among those who had technical expertise in oral care (p = 0.031). Conclusion: For nursing technicians in practice section, oral health activity can be compromised by those without technical expertise.