Changes in the profile of dental procedures performed in a pediatric clinic between 1980 and 2004

RESUMO

The goal of this research was to assess whether there was a change in the profile of dental procedures performed in the Pediatric Dental Clinic at the School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto at University of São Paulo during the period between the years 1980 to 2004. Using the dental records of 3,484 pediatric patients attended at the Pediatric Dental Clinic, we conducted a survey of clinical procedures performed by undergraduate students in the years 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. The following procedures, performed in deciduous and permanent teeth in children from 1 to 12 years, were topicalapplications of fluoride, pit and fissure sealant applications, silver amalgam and composite resin fillings, pulpotomy and tooth extraction. The numeric values obtained for each procedure were converted into percentages, and data were analyzed using Fisher Exact or qui-square tests (α = 0.05). The results revealed the occurrence of a significant increase (p < 0.01) in percentage of topical fluoride applications (increase of 18.9%) and sealants applications (increase of 11.2%). On the other hand, the percentage of performance of silver amalgam and composite resin fillings, pulpotomies and tooth extraction showed a significant decline of 16.0, 6.0 and 16.1%, respectively (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that there was a decline of restorative, surgical and conservative endodontic procedures, with a concomitant increase of preventive procedures.