Access to Dental Care among Adolescents with Heart Disease

ABSTRACT

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.