OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the present study was to assess the clinical consequences of untreated dental caries related to the occurrence of toothache among Brazilian preschool children.

METHODS

A random sample of 540 two- to five-year-olds underwent a clinical oral examination for the assessment of early childhood caries (ECC) using the dmft (decayed, missing and filled primary teeth) index and pufa (carious lesions with pulpal involvement [p], ulceration of the mucosa due to root fragments [u], fistula [f], and abscess [a]) index to score consequences of dental caries in soft tissues. Parents/guardians were asked to answer a questionnaire addressing sociodemographic characteristics and toothache experience in the children. Descriptive analysis and hierarchically adjusted Poisson regression models were employed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of ECC and pufa (≥1) was approximately 50 percent and 12 percent, respectively. A total of 25 percent of the children had toothache experience. Toothache was significantly associated with: an older age (prevalence ratio [PR]=3.70; 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.09-6.58); carious lesions with pulpal involvement (PR=3.93; 95% CI=3.09-5.01); ulceration of the mucosa due to root fragments (PR=2.73; 95% CI=1.52-4.89); fistula (PR=2.91; 95% CI=1.89-4.49); and abscess (PR=4.43; 95% CI=3.78-5.19).

CONCLUSIONS

Toothache experience in preschool children was associated with untreated cavitated dentin lesions and their consequences.