[Dental caries prevalence in permanent teeth of schoolchildren in the Municipality of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1970-1996]. / Prevalência de cárie em dentes permanentes de escolares do Município de São Paulo, SP, 1970-1996.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the evolution of dental caries in permanent teeth of schoolchildren in S. Paulo City, Brazil, during the period of 1970-1996. METHODS: The World Health Organization methodology for oral health surveys was applied in 2,491 schoolchildren, both male and female from 103 public and private schools. A probabilistic sample stratified by age, school category, and city zones was obtained by the Education State Service data system. Computational resources were used. RESULTS: Data from the 1996 S. Paulo survey were compared with others data provided by studies such as the one conducted in the same city and the reference-population in the second half of the 20th century. In the 60s and 70s the DMF-T Index among 12-year-old schoolchildren was around 7.0. In 1986 it was 6.5 and in 1996 it was registered 2.1, a decline of 68%. CONCLUSION: Dental caries in permanent teeth among S. Paulo City 12-year-old schoolchildren changed from a "very high" to "low" prevalence.

[Participation of dental auxiliary personnel in local health systems]. / La participación del personal auxiliar de odontología en los sistemas locales de salud.

Though numerous local health systems (sistemas locales de salud, or SILOS) in Brazil employ dental assistants, there is little information on the contributions these workers make to oral health programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of such workers in 10 SILOS in five municipalities in the state of São Paulo. Of the 325 dental assistants and dental hygienists employed in those systems, 245 (75.4%) answered a questionnaire that had been prepared. The results showed variations in the degree to which dental assistants participated in oral health promotion activities in the SILOS studied. In some SILOS, these workers devoted more time to dental health promotion activities than to helping perform dental tasks with individual patients. The most frequent oral health promotion activities were fluoride rinses, plaque detection followed by supervised brushing, and educational activities at basic health units and schools. In all cases, dental assistants working in the SILOS played a significant role in helping transform the practice of dentistry within the sphere of public health.

Oral health and periodontal status in Brazilian elderly.

A total of 104 elderly persons between the ages of 60 and 89 were examined at the "Geraldo de Paula Sousa" Health Center, São Paulo, State of São Paulo. The state of their oral health was very poor, insofar as 4.29 (71.5%) of the sextants were shown to be null, while 0.12 and 0.13 sextants showed deep periodontal pockets > or = 6 mm in the ages from 60-70 and more than 70 years of age, respectively. The level of knowledge about periodontal disease and dental plaque was very deficient; only about 52% of the population under study reported having visited a dentist in the last two years. We conclude that greater odontological attention is needed for the elderly age group, as there are no large-scale community service centers in Brazil for this population group.

CPITN: time and cost estimates for periodontal prevention and treatment procedures.

The aim of this study was to estimate the necessary time and cost for periodontal prevention and treatment in a working population from sugar and alcohol refineries in Araraquara, SP, Brazil. A stratified sample of 528 employees aged 18-64 from administrative, industrial and agricultural staffs was examined by one examiner, previously trained, according to the community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN). The time required for procedures and the cost was extrapolated to the total worker population. The results showed that the estimated time required for periodontal prevention/treatment was 4527 hours. Of this time, 1783 hours were required for oral hygiene instruction, 2531 for scaling, 151 for surgery and 62 for maintenance. The cost would be US $17,655 for hiring a dentist for 8 hours/day to provide oral hygiene instruction, scaling, surgery and maintenance. However, the cost would be US $9,028 for hiring a dentist for 4 hours/day to provide surgery and maintenance and a dental hygienist for 8 hours/day to provide scaling and oral hygiene instruction. Taking into account epidemiologic, technical and economic aspects, the decision relating to manpower should be this second option.