Dental Enamel Alterations in Preschool Children from Salvador-Ba: Occurrence and Associated Factors

Objective: To describe the prevalence and distribution of Developmental Defects of Enamel (DDE) in children aged 3 to 5 years old in the city of Salvador-BA-Brazil, and to identify potential associated factors, considering socioeconomic, pregnancy, care characteristics childbirth and child behavior. Methodology: This cross-sectional study investigated the DDE in children aged 3 to 5 years, who attended municipal public daycare centers and Family Health Units, in 2018. The oral examination was carried out and it was applied a questionnaire to the respondent about characteristics of children and families. Descriptive and multivariate regression analyzes were performed, assuming a confidence level of 95%. Results: 1591 preschoolers were examined, with a mean age of 54 months. Most children were male (50.41%) and had brown or black skin color (93.34%). The prevalence of DDE was 9.24%. In the multivariate analysis, it was found that the male sex had a negative association with the DDE, while the age greater than or equal to 54 months and the presence of caries in the primary dentition showed a positive association with the DDE. Conclusion: DDEs are shown to be an important oral disease among preschoolage children to be monitored in the city of Salvador-BA, and strongly associated with dental caries.